Angelic Moon
by SYF
Summary: I'M BACK WITH CHAPTER 15! after Eriol and his test. Yue is a rogue guardian looking for his true love and instead finds Sakura. Akuma is a sorceress who wants to kill Sakura. Sakura...well she's just confused.
1. Default Chapter

First up this is set in an A/U. Here's the deal with the cardcaptor crew:  
  
Sakura, Eriol, Tomoyo, Meiling and Syaoron: 16 Yukito, Touya and Kaho: 20 Yue, Kero and Tsuki: really old. Yue is 18 in his human form. Nakuru and Spinel: 8 technically since they were created when Eriol was about eight.  
  
Pairs  
  
Touya + Kaho  
  
Yue + Sakura  
  
Syaoron + Tomoyo  
  
Eriol + Meiling  
  
Kero + Spinel Sun  
  
Tsuki + Ruby Moon  
  
Tsuki is a replacement of Yue. Kero and Spinel Sun now have human forms courtesy of their masters. Ruby Moon is male. Yue's element is star, but since it would be waaaay confusing if I changed his name it's staying as it is.  
  
Eriol and Meiling are engaged. Tomoyo and Syaoron have been going out for one and a half years. Yukito and Sakura used to go out but they broke up when Yukito went over to America. Touya and Kaho have been together since Sakura captured all the cards.  
  
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'Sakura I am not going on that ride,' a black-haired girl said firmly. The brown haired girl tugging on her arm released with a sigh. 'But Tomoooyyooo,' she wailed. When the other girl didn't answer she rolled her eyes. 'Fine,' she fumed and stormed away.  
  
A brown-haired boy came to stand beside Tomoyo. 'She never used to be like this,' he said quizzically. Tomoyo looked up at Li Syaoron, her boyfriend of nearly two years. 'Losing your father in a gun massacre is pretty devastating,' Tomoyo said softly. Syaoron put an arm around her. 'I guess so,' he murmured. They both stared after the girl with pity in their eyes.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura sighed impatiently. She really wanted to go on this ride. The faster the ride the better, the faster the ride the more alive she felt. She needed to feel that she was alive. Ever since otousan's deaths she'd felt as if she was fading, becoming less real. Not even Kero or Tsuki could help. She needed to feel adrenaline rushing through her veins to feel as if she was still real.  
  
She was finally at the head of the line. The man at the end smiled kindly at her. 'Guess this young man will be your seating partner,' he said looking behind Sakura. She turned around to see the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen.  
  
The minute the thought entered her head she forced it out again. It had barely been a year since Yukito left and here she was already mooning over some new guy. She had to admit though that he was still one of the most gorgeous guys she had met since Yukito.  
  
He had silver hair that fell to his waist. On one side of his face was a strip of hair plaited to half its length then left to fall. The end of the plait was tied with a purple ribbon. The ribbon was a few shades lighter than his eyes. But Sakura noticed that if she watched carefully she could almost see flashes of silver that appeared once in a while.  
  
The thing that shocked her however was how much he looked like Yukito. It wasn't much but there was something in the bone structure and the way he held himself that was so much like Yukito. She shook off her melancholy and turned back to studying the boy. It was just a coincident, nothing more.  
  
He was tall and slimly built. But she could sense the strength hidden inside of him. He reminded her of a panther...a panther that wouldn't lower himself to chase after its prey but simply outwait it. There was infinite patience in his eyes and the way he looked at the world.  
  
Sakura smiled brightly. 'Nice to meet you,' she said brightly as she and the boy went over to the seats. The boy grunted in an unfriendly manner. Sakura frowned, well that was rude. She ignored her anger and concentrated on the adrenaline that was rushing through her.  
  
She smiled slightly and tightened her grip on the arm. Since she couldn't fly on the Fly this morning this was the next best thing. She felt herself starting to go calm as the ride began to move.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'That was so cool!!!' she squealed when she got back to where Tomoyo and Syaoron were standing. 'Sometimes I think you have suicidal tendencies,' Syaoron said shaking his head. Sakura's rolled her eyes. 'Just cause you're a wuss,' she teased. Syaoron scowled and was about to answer when he was interrupted.  
  
'I think you forgot something,' a cool voice said behind Sakura. Sakura gasped and whirled around. The man who had been on the ride with her was standing behind her with a distant look. He held Sakura's purse in his hand.  
  
The sight of the cold man holding a pink purse while looking so disdainful was too much for Sakura. A giggle burst out. The man only looked more annoyed. Sakura choked back a laugh. She tried to hold it in while saying thank you. 'A...mph...ari...ahem...arigatou gozaimasu,' she said trying to look thankful yet failing.  
  
'Welcome,' he said looking annoyed. Before he could go Sakura stopped him. 'What's your name?' she asked. Immediately she regretted it. What on earth had made her ask him? She squashed that thought and smiled prettily at him. 'Akari Yue,' he said looking surprised.  
  
'Well, arigatou, again,' she said with a bow. He nodded and disappeared into the crowd. 'Who was that?' Tomoyo asked with glee. 'He sat next to me on the ride,' Sakura said shrugging.  
  
'Cute,' Tomoyo said with a smile. Syaoron turned green with jealousy.  
  
'You've already got one boy,' Sakura admonished although grinning widely. Tomoyo gave her a look. 'Already staking your territories hmm,' she teased. Sakura wrinkled her nose and headed for another ride.  
  
'About time she got over Yukito,' Tomoyo said approvingly. Syaoron looked at her reproachfully. 'She's just barely met him, and I think she's entitled to her own love life,' he said. Tomoyo giggled and hugged Syaoron tightly. 'So what if she's just met him? He's still good looking. And I'm her friend so I have the right to interfere as much as I want,' Tomoyo said pulling Syaoron over to a game. Syaoron grunted skeptically and let himself be guided.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura sighed with happiness. 'That was such a great day,' she said looking up at the ceiling. 'So you had fun,' a voice asked. Sakura sat up and turned around. 'Yah ha,' she said nodding.  
  
The golden haired boy smiled from the couch. 'Did you have fun?' she asked tilting her head impishly. Kero didn't answer. 'Mooning over Suppi hmm?' she asked laughing. Kero blushed and looked away.  
  
'Of course he was,' a mature voice said behind her. Sakura turned around and saw a black-haired woman with grey eyes. 'I'll bet you were mooning over Nakuru,' Sakura teased with a smile.  
  
'I get the feeling that you had more than a great day' the woman asked ignoring the jibe. Sakura blushed and poked her tongue out.  
  
'So tell all,' Tsuki said sitting down on the floor. Sakura lay on her stomach on the bed. She supported her head on her folded arms. 'Well I met this guy and he had silver hair and purple eyes he was grumpy but...' she trailed off bemusedly. 'But...' Kero prompted.  
  
'He was really cute too,' Sakura said with a reminiscent smile. Tsuki and Kero looked at each other with a smile. 'Anyway, doesn't really matter since I won't be seeing him again,' Sakura said sitting up. Tsuki didn't even bother to express her disbelief. Her mistress could be very obtuse at times.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura cooked dinner and Kero and Tsuki set up the table. Just as they were finished Touya and Kaho came home. 'Right on time,' Sakura said bringing out plates. 'I forgot it's your turn to cook today,' Touya said with mock horror. Her eyes turned dark green. The next minute Touya was yelling and clutching his foot.  
  
'Serves you right,' Sakura said with a sniff. Kaho smiled and sat down at her chair. Touya grumbled and sat down as well. As soon as they were all seated they began eating.  
  
'How was the opera?' Sakura asked her brother. He shrugged while Kaho smiled brightly. 'It was wonderful,' she said warmly. Sakura smiled because she knew how little time her brother and her sensei got to themselves.  
  
'We have news,' Tsuki said toward the end of dinner. Everyone turned to look at her expectantly. 'Eriol and Meiling are arriving in two days with Suppi and Nakuru,' she said. There was a moment where everyone's brains processed this information. Then Sakura yelled loudly. 'This is going to be so cool,' she squealed.  
  
'Calm down,' Kaho said with a laugh. Sakura grinned and curbed her excitement. 'But I haven't seen them in two years,' she said with a wide grin. 'I'm sure they haven't changed Kaijuu,' her brother said ruffling her hair. 'Don't call me Kaijuu,' she said narrowing her eyes.  
  
'Grow up you two,' Kero said rolling his eyes. The siblings turned to the young man. 'Grow up? We weren't the ones staying up all night to play the video games,' Sakura glared and folded her arms.  
  
'And we weren't the ones who polished off all the chocolate cake yesterday,' Touya said mirroring his sister. Kero looked from one to the other. 'You two are scary when you do that,' he said.  
  
'Do what?' Sakura asked.  
  
'You know, gang up on some innocent person,' he said earning a raised eyebrow from the both of them. 'Gang up?' Touya asked coolly. 'Innocent?' Sakura mimicked her brother's tone.  
  
'Give up before you get hurt seriously,' Tsuki advised, 'no one is tough enough to go against them both.' Kero glared at the woman. 'Are you saying I'm not tough?' he asked outraged.  
  
'Hmm,' Tsuki looked thoughtful then she smiled, 'yep.' Before a war could break loose Kaho stopped them. 'Let's get back to the subject,' she said sternly. Everyone looked ashamed and muttered sorries. 'So where are they staying?' Sakura asked.  
  
'His mansion where else?' Tsuki said with a shrug.  
  
'It would be so cool if we could have a sleep over with all of us here, you know just the Cardcaptors,' Sakura said.  
  
'You're the only Cardcaptor kiddo,' Kero said.  
  
'You know what I mean,' Sakura replied with a scowl.  
  
'Yes we do and we'll see if we can work something out,' Kaho promised. Sakura nodded happily and began to clean up. 'So what happened to her today?' Kaho asked as soon as Sakura was out of hearing. 'How do you know these things?' Kero asked amazed. Kaho smiled mysteriously.  
  
'She apparently met someone who looks remarkably like Yukito. And she admitted he was cute too,' Tsuki said with a wide smile. Kaho's smiled grew wider. 'You might want to watch her for a few days,' she warned.  
  
'Why?' Touya asked.  
  
'Because I get the feeling she might be meeting that young man soon,' Kaho replied. Touya scowled. He was still very protective of his imouto. 'As long as he doesn't try anything with my imouto,' Touya muttered. Kaho laughed and kissed him on the cheek. 'I get the feeling it'll be her trying something with him,' she replied.  
  
Kero and Tsuki gaped. As far as they knew Sakura wasn't exactly what people would call forward. Far from it actually. They stopped though when Sakura came back in with desert. The strawberry short cake was quickly demolished. 


	2. Chapter Two

'Sakura you're late for...' Kero began.  
  
'Hoe!!' she yelped getting up. Over the years she'd polish up the ability to hear those words and force herself out of sleep. Kero made himself scarce as soon as clothes began to fly around the room.  
  
Ten minutes later Sakura looked at herself in the mirror. It was a new year of school and she was more than ready. She pulled her hair into a tight ponytail. She was surprised at how long her hair was. It reached the middle of her back already.  
  
She ran downstairs and thanked her lucky stars that she had prepared her bag last night. 'Hello,' she said, her voice penetrating the whole of the house. 'Good morning,' Tsuki said from the kitchen.  
  
Touya and Kero were there already. Touya and Kero grunted. 'Well aren't we a happy lot this morning,' Sakura said sitting down to eat.  
  
'We're tired okay?' Touya glared. This made Sakura smirk.  
  
'Now why on earth would you be tired?' she asked innocently. She laughed as Touya blushed a shade of red that she never knew existed. 'Leave him alone,' Tsuki admonished, 'for now.' Sakura snickered. She finished her breakfast quickly and got up.  
  
'I'll be home later than usual, I'm going to be helping Kaho after school,' she said letting herself out. Tsuki acknowledged that with a smile. She ran out and walked to where she usually met her friends.  
  
'Hello' she called to Tomoyo and Syaoron. They waved and waited till she was with them before walking. 'Guess what?' Sakura asked. 'I don't know what?' Tomoyo replied.  
  
'Eriol, Meiling, Spinel and Nakuru are arriving in two days,' she said with a wide grin. Tomoyo looked delighted while Syaoron was anything but. 'Aren't you happy to see them?' Sakura asked knowing perfectly well that he wasn't.  
  
'Meiling and Spinel yes. Nakuru is creepy and Eriol is just plain annoying,' Syaoron replied with a scowl. Sakura shook her head. 'Well that's a pity since I was thinking of organizing a sleep over for all of us,' she said skipping happily.  
  
'That would be so cool,' Tomoyo said as they neared a corner. Sakura nodded and skipped ahead. There was a loud crash then... 'Ow! Watch where you're going!!' Sakura's voice yelled. 'I wasn't the one skipping with my eyes closed,' a cool voice interjected.  
  
Tomoyo and Syaoron hurried and stopped. Sakura was on the ground glaring up at another person. Tomoyo gaped as she realised who it was. And what he was wearing. Syaoron helped Sakura up and dusted her off.  
  
She was able to look at him properly now. 'You can't be going to Tomoeda High,' she said disbelievingly. The boy stared at her coolly. 'And why on earth not?' he asked folding his arm.  
  
'But...but, it's not fair,' she wailed. Tomoyo giggled. The giggle turned to a full laugh at the look on the boy's face. Syaoron sighed and put a hand over Sakura's mouth. 'Sakura be quiet, please,' he said looking into her eyes seriously. Sakura glared and nodded.  
  
'This cannot be happening to me,' she said heaving a sigh.  
  
'Would you like us to show you where to go?' Tomoyo asked kindly. The boy considered then nodded. 'Tomoyo,' Sakura whispered. She looked at Sakura with wide, innocent eyes. 'What? I just thought I'd be friendly,' she said simply, not fooling Sakura for a minute.  
  
'When we get to school...' Sakura threatened before storming ahead.  
  
'Is she always this rude?' Yue asked indicating Sakura.  
  
'Yep, she's always been a little BRAT,' the last was yelled.  
  
'Don't be so immature Tomoyo,' Sakura tossed back without turning. Tomoyo grinned and turned back to Yue. 'My name's Daidouji Tomoyo and this is Li Syaoron, we already know your name.' she said.  
  
'How old are you?' Yue asked studying both of them.  
  
'Sixteen,' she replied.  
  
'That explains it,' Yue mused.  
  
'Explains what?'  
  
'Why that girl is so immature,' he replied.  
  
'I have a name and it's not girl, it's Sakura,' the *girl* snapped.  
  
'I'm so sorry, *Sakura*,' Yue replied with a smirk.  
  
'You know I don't hate many people on sight, but you, I just have to hate,' Sakura replied pleasantly. Yue said nothing. Sakura sniffed and walked ahead. By the time Tomoyo and the two boys arrived at school Sakura was already in class.  
  
'First time she's been earlier than us,' Syaoron noted. Tomoyo giggled and nodded. 'You'll have to go to the office first,' Tomoyo told Yue. He nodded and walked off.  
  
'Let's go,' Syaoron said going to their new classroom. They entered and saw Sakura talking with Kaho. Kaho was laughing over something while Sakura was gesturing wildly.  
  
'Talking about a certain silver haired boy?' Tomoyo asked. They both turned to the pair. Sakura scowled. 'You mean a rude silver haired boy,' she said. Tomoyo stifled a giggle.  
  
'I believe he is two years older than you so you'll be safe,' Kaho promised. Sakura nodded. She got up when the bell rang and sat in the same seat she had occupied for the whole of her years at Tomoedo high.  
  
She stared out the window and ignored everyone. 'Welcome to a new year, I am Mizuki Kaho and I am obviously a new teacher so go easy on me,' Kaho said with a smile.  
  
'I hope you have a fun year and I hope that you will work while you have fun,' Kaho finished before starting work.  
  
Sakura sighed and pulled out her books. She liked school but she didn't like it as much as she used to. She concentrated on everything Kaho was saying and the first period passed swiftly.  
  
In English she was unusually quiet. The teacher kept casting her worried looks, which she ignored. She wanted to be left alone for a while with no questions. She sighed as the bell rang. Now she would have to pretend to be happy. She gathered her books and was about to leave when the teacher stopped her.  
  
'Yes Terada-Sensei,' Sakura asked politely. The teacher looked at her intensely. 'Are you all right Sakura?' he asked. Sakura nodded quickly. 'I'm perfectly fine,' she assured.  
  
'You aren't upset about what happened last year?' he asked delicately. She shook her head. 'I'm fine,' she said brightly. He nodded skeptically. 'As long as you are sure,' he said. Sakura nodded and quickly walked out of class.  
  
She was walking so fast she didn't see a silver haired boy step in front of her. Books and bags went flying as she fell hard on the floor. She sighed with frustration. This was not her day. She got on her knees and began to gather papers up.  
  
'I'm so sorry,' she said to the person.  
  
'It's all right,' a detached voice said above her. Sakura looked up with surprise. 'Oh, it's you,' she said flatly. Yue couldn't help but smile at the obvious annoyance in her voice.  
  
Sakura blinked in surprise. He looked so different when he smiled. Instinctively she smiled back. This time Yue was the one who was surprised. Before he had thought her a childish girl but that smile added an element of maturity to her face. As a girl she was cute, as a woman she was beautiful. He was entranced by the ageless wisdom in her young eyes.  
  
'You should smile more,' her voice broke his thoughts.  
  
'Pardon?' he asked startled.  
  
'You should smile more,' she repeated, 'you look beautiful when you smile,' she said tilting her head.  
  
'Beautiful?' he asked. He had never been described as beautiful before. He kind of liked it. 'Bad choice of words?' she said worriedly. He shook his head quickly. 'No, I like it, it's just no one has ever called me beautiful before,' he said looking confused. Sakura giggled.  
  
She got up and offered her hand. 'I'm sorry for being so grumpy this morning and being so clumsy just now. It was one of my down days,' she said prettily. Despite his reserve Yue found himself shaking her hands.  
  
'I can't help but be clumsy,' Sakura sighed as she gathered her paper. 'And unfortunately my brother always reminds me of it,' she frowned.  
  
'Kaijuu what did you do now?' a voice called. Yue looked up and saw a brunette boy with Mizuki-sensei. 'And here he comes,' Sakura grumbled. Yue hid a smile at her tone.  
  
'Clumsy as ever aren't you?' Touya teased. Sakura glared and stamped his foot. She smirked as Touya yelped with pain. 'I told you not to call me kaijuu but do you ever listen? Of course not,' she complained.  
  
'Sibling love,' Kaho rolled her eyes. Yue smiled faintly. Kaho turned to Yue. 'My name is Mizuki Kaho,' she introduced herself. 'And that is Kinomoto Touya,' she pointed to the boy.  
  
'My name is Akari Yue,' the silver-eyed boy said.  
  
'Are they always like that?' Yue asked looking at the arguing brother and sister. Kaho sighed exasperatedly. 'Unfortunately yes,' she said annoyance colouring her voice. 'Are you two finished?' she asked pointedly. Sakura looked up and grinned. She skipped over to where the two were standing.  
  
'Yep, I won,' she said brightly.  
  
'No you didn't,' Touya said standing behind her. Sakura wrinkled her nose. She put on a cold regal expression on her face. She stared at Touya.  
  
Yue laughed out loud at the nonplussed expression on Touya's face. They looked over at him. Touya suspiciously, Sakura with a smile. 'Who is this?' Touya asked.  
  
'Akari Yue,' Sakura replied.  
  
'Does he look better when he smiles or not?' Sakura asked Kaho. Kaho smiled fondly at the girl. 'When he smiles,' she replied. Sakura turned to Yue with triumph. 'See, you should smile more,' she told him.  
  
'Your every wish is my command,' he said with a mock bow. Sakura giggled at his antics. 'Was this the very rude silver-haired boy you were talking to me about?' Kaho asked Sakura.  
  
Sakura flushed with embarrassment. 'Kaho!' she exclaimed. The redhead laughed. 'Rude?' Yue asked lifting his left eyebrow. Sakura blushed. 'Like I said I was in a grumpy mood,' Sakura said looking away. Then she thought of something and turned back to him with a smile.  
  
'I have a great idea, why don't you come to the party this weekend?' she asked happily.  
  
'Pardon?' Touya and Yue said.  
  
'Why don't you come over this Saturday?' Sakura repeated frankly. 'Sakura problem with Kero and Suppi,' Touya hinted. Sakura shook her head. 'No worries, I'll explain it to them,' she said. Touya only rolled his eyes. Sometimes his sister was so naïve.  
  
'Please come over. It's a party of a sort. Some of our friends are coming over from England. And I'm sure that they'll be glad to meet you,' Sakura pleaded.  
  
Yue shifted uncomfortably. Sakura's eyes were wide. It was a puppy dog look that Yue had thought himself immune to. But when it came from the brown haired, emerald-eyed girl he could only nod.  
  
'But...' Touya began.  
  
'We would be glad to have you there,' Kaho cut in. Touya looked at her with surprise. She shook her head slightly and gave him an I'll-explain-later- when-we're-alone look. Touya nodded resignedly.  
  
'Here's our address,' Sakura said pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote down her address and phone number. 'Come around at five p.m. or so,' she said. Yue nodded.  
  
'Thank you,' he said softly.  
  
'No worries,' she said brightly.  
  
'I'll see you soon,' he said walking away.  
  
'I like him,' Kaho said.  
  
'I don't,' Touya growled.  
  
'He's nice, just...lonely as well,' Sakura said.  
  
'Why would he be lonely?' Kaho asked.  
  
'I'm not sure,' was the answer. 


	3. Chapter Three

'Eriol, Meiling!!!' Sakura shouted waving her hands.  
  
Tomoyo held a camera and was filming the happy reunion. Syaoron was uncharacteristically smiling. He was fond of his cousin. Tsuki and Kero were also smiling. They were very happy to see their lovers again.  
  
Tsuki hugged Ruby Moon with all her strength while Kero ruffled Suppi's hair affectionately. 'That's so cute,' Sakura said smiling. Eriol hugged her and smiled gently. 'Haven't you got a love of your own?' he asked.  
  
'No,' she blushed. Tomoyo and Syaoron both laughed at her red face. 'Are you positive? What about Yue?' Syaoron teased.  
  
'Yue?' Eriol tensed. Sakura looked at him worriedly.  
  
'What's wrong?' Sakura asked. He shook his head.  
  
'It's just a...a friend I used to know had that name,' Eriol said. Sakura's eyes turned curious. 'I'm sure it's just a coincident,' Eriol said to reassure her. Sakura nodded uncertainly.  
  
'SAKURA!!' Meiling yelled and launched herself at the smaller girl. Sakura laughed and hugged her back. 'It's great to see you again,' Sakura said with a smile. 'Now who's this Yue I keep hearing about?' Meiling teased.  
  
'Tomoyo and her camera are so going down,' Sakura vowed with a glare in Tomoyo's direction. Tomoyo smiled innocently. 'Well I can't wait to see him,' Meiling said as they walked out to the cars.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
//Party Day//  
  
Yue stood outside feeling uncharacteristically nervous. ~I shouldn't be so nervous~ he told himself. But some how it matter more than it should. He gathered his courage and knocked on the door. The door opened to reveal Sakura.  
  
She was dressed in a pink tank top and a green skirt that reached her knees. Her hair was in a braid. 'Hi!!' she said brightly. Yue smiled back. 'See I am smiling more,' he said. Sakura laughed. She grabbed her hand and pulled him in. She led him to the kitchen. All activities stopped as they noticed the boy.  
  
'This must be Yue,' a blue haired boy said stepping forward. There was something about this boy that got on Yue's nerves. He nodded curtly.  
  
Sakura led him around and introduced him to everyone. Something inside him reared up at the sight of the teens and adults around him. Something angry and full of hatred. It was only when he was around Sakura that he felt calm.  
  
He was sullen and curt and Sakura couldn't understand why. But she kept a smile on her face and made everything brighter with that smile.  
  
It was half way through the party when something happened. Sakura was happily talking to Yue about her friends when the lights suddenly went out.  
  
'What happened?' Sakura said looking around wildly. The crescent moon was barely bright enough to light the dark room. Sakura felt her throat constrict as she felt the darkness close in. Suddenly a warm pair of arms wrapped around her. She clung to the person with all her strength. 'I hate the dark,' she whispered.  
  
'With the dark comes light,' a voice whispered in her ears. She looked up and saw Yue looking at her tenderly. 'Don't be afraid,' he said stroking her hair. Sakura sighed and relaxed.  
  
She tensed when she felt an aura outside. A very, very strong aura. Bright light flared up in the gardens. Everyone ran out and stopped suddenly when they saw the glowing woman.  
  
She had black hair in a tight braid falling to her knee. Laced through the hair were red ribbons. She wore a red dress that would have been extremely revealing if she hadn't been wearing a black body-suit underneath. Her eyes glowed bright red.  
  
'Who are you?' Eriol asked pushing forward.  
  
'An old friend,' she said with a razor-edged smile.  
  
'What do you want?' Sakura asked shakily.  
  
'The Card Mistress,' the woman said still smiling.  
  
'Well you can't have her,' Tsuki and Kero said pushing forward.  
  
'Oh, I think I can,' the woman purred. She waved her hand imperiously. Tsuki and Kero stumbled as they felt an invisible force push them back. Nakuru and Suppi leapt forward to support their lovers.  
  
The woman laughed louder. She stretched out her arms above her head. Red light gathered in her palm. She brought it down and aimed at the four guardians. Red light streamed out and wrapped them up.  
  
Kero and Suppi lost their human forms and fell to the ground unconscious, as did Nakuru and Tsuki. Sakura ran forward and was stopped by Touya. She glared at him then pushed him aside. She called up her wand quickly.  
  
She faced the woman bravely. 'I'm the Card Mistress. You wanted me? You got me. Now leave the others alone,' she declared.  
  
'I like you girl. Let's see how good you are,' the woman said sprouting black wings on her back. She flew up high into the sky. When she was a couple of hundred feet up in the air she stopped. She held out her arm straight at Sakura.  
  
Red balls came from her hands and streaked toward Sakura. 'Jump card, release and dispel,' Sakura sprouted wings on her feet. She jumped up high dodging the balls that slammed into the ground with a boom. 'Fly card, release and dispel.' She now had white wings on her back. The wings on her feet were gone.  
  
She flew up to the woman and held her staff tightly. The others wanted to do something. But the sky was the domain of the guardians and Sakura. There was nothing they could do.  
  
No one noticed Yue curling over as bright light erupted from his body. White wings covered him up and then fell back to reveal an entirely new person.  
  
Up in the sky the woman was shooting Sakura while she was using the shield. But even Sakura's powers had a limited. And she was swiftly approaching that limit.  
  
Touya cried out in fear as Sakura's aura started to fade. Suddenly a silver light streaked past him. The light flew up to hover in front of Sakura. 'Stop it now,' the man said coldly. The woman stopped instantaneously.  
  
'Yue,' she breathed.  
  
This Yue was dressed in a white and purple uniform. His wings were shimmering white. His hair now reached past his knee. His hair still had the small strip of braid on the side with the purple ribbon.  
  
'Yue,' Kero whispered looking at the man with awe.  
  
'Akuma, stop this now,' Yue demanded.  
  
'Why?' the woman asked.  
  
'Because this is between us, she is not involved,' Yue said.  
  
'Fine,' the woman snapped.  
  
'Promise me you will never harm her,' Yue demanded. The woman's expression turned sly. 'All right,' she promised, 'after one last thing.' On the last word she waved her arm viciously.  
  
Sakura cried out as she was slammed by an unseen force. The woman laughed and disappeared in a whirl of red light.  
  
The others on the ground, including the guardians who had woken up, yelled with fear as Sakura fell to the earth. Yue folded his wings and dived down after her. ~I can't make it~ was his first thought, then, ~of course I can, I have to. Stars high in the sky, lend me your powers to save her~ Yue prayed. He felt himself infused with light.  
  
Meters away from the ground he finally caught her. His wings flared out in an attempt to slow their descent. He landed hard on his feet and stumbled to his knees. He put Sakura on the ground gently.  
  
When Kero and Tsuki stepped forward they were stopped by a shield. Yue glared at them. When he looked down at Sakura his expression turned tender. He stroked her face softly. A silver glow came from his hands. The glow spread through her whole body.  
  
When the glow faded they could see the renewed aura around Sakura. Yue stood up and spread his wings. 'Look after her,' he told Kero and Tsuki. They nodded wordlessly.  
  
Yue tensed and flew off into the night sky. Touya rushed forward and picked Sakura up. 'What was that all about?' Tomoyo asked. Kero didn't answer. He wasn't sure he would have been able to.  
  
Touya carried Sakura into the house. Everyone but Kero followed. 'What are you doing Yue?' he asked looking at the sky. He sighed and walked back into the house. 


	4. Chapter Four

Sakura opened her eyes slowly. She squinted against the bright light. 'What happened?' she asked tiredly. Tomoyo's face came into sight.  
  
'What do you remember?' she asked worriedly.  
  
'A woman hurting Kero and Tsuki and I remember an...angel?' Sakura shook her head. 'Ouch,' she muttered as her head pulsated with pain.  
  
'You didn't miss much. Yue transformed into this being and protected you. He got rid of the woman but she got you bad before she went. Yue healed you and you've been asleep for the last two days,' Tomoyo concluded.  
  
'You're finally awake,' a quiet voice said. Sakura looked up and saw Eriol. 'Let's go down stairs, everyone wants to see you,' Eriol said coming over to help Eriol. Sakura stood up and walked down stairs carefully.  
  
Everyone looked up when Sakura entered with Eriol and Tomoyo. 'Sakura!!' Kero yelled flying over to hug her. Sakura smiled and hugged him back. 'Thank god you're back,' Tsuki said hugging her.  
  
'Let's get started,' Eriol said helping Sakura sit down.  
  
'So who was that?' Touya asked Eriol.  
  
'I don't know, Clow won't tell me,' Eriol said with a frown.  
  
'I will,' Kero said quietly. Everyone turned to him with surprise.  
  
'So who was it?' Meiling asked.  
  
'Before I tell you I have to give you some background information. A couple of years after I was created, Clow told me a strange story. He said that before the Clow Cards existed there was another card in existence. She was the Angel Card. She used to be an Angel but to balance the magic in the world she gave up her physical form to become a Card. She was his inspiration for the cards. I asked him why he told me this. He smiled and said it was one of those things I needed to know as a Guardian.'  
  
'I do remember telling you that,' Eriol nodded.  
  
'What does this have to do with Yue?' Kaho asked.  
  
'At the time that I was created there was already another guardian created before me. His name was Yue. His element was of the star but he told me once that he felt closer to the moon than the stars. One night I was a sleep when I felt a strange aura. I went up to the roof and saw Yue with a woman. I couldn't see her properly but she had pinkish white hair and wings. A second later she disappeared. I went down before Yue could see me.'  
  
'Who was she?' Touya cut in.  
  
'I asked Clow to describe the Angel Card to me. He showed me the card and it was the same woman. I told Clow I had seen her with Yue. He looked angry but I didn't know why. A couple of days later I heard shouting in the Library. Clow and Yue were fighting. Clow told Yue that to interact closely with a card was wrong; especially the Angel Card. Yue didn't say anything. Finally he just spread his wings and disappeared. He never appeared again.'  
  
'Yue was...in love with a Card?' Meililng asked with wide eyes. Kero nodded.  
  
'A year later the Angel Card disappeared. I didn't know what happened. When I asked, Clow only said that she was gone.'  
  
'Did Yue steal it?' Touya asked.  
  
'I thought so too. But one night he came in. He told Clow it was all Clow's fault that the Card had disappeared. He would do whatever he could to find it. And that Clow had better not interfere. Then he disappeared again. Yue was supposed to be the judge but he abandoned that position to look for the Angel card. So Clow created Tsuki to replace him.'  
  
'How come I don't know about this?' Tsuki asked.  
  
'Because Clow made me promise never to tell anyone, at least until Yue appeared again.'  
  
'I don't remember any of this,' Eriol said confused.  
  
'It wasn't something Clow was proud of,' Kero explained with a shrug.  
  
'So Yue is a guardian,' Sakura asked. Kero nodded.  
  
'He looks lonely,' she said sadly.  
  
'Don't be so nice. We don't know if he's an enemy or not,' Touya said sharply. 'He's right; while I was sleeping I heard many things about Yue. I know he killed many people in the chance that they might have the Card,' Kero said with a concerned look.  
  
'I'll be careful,' Sakura promised.  
  
Touya sighed knowing this was the best he could get. He turned his mind to other matters. 'Who was that woman?' Touya asked.  
  
'I can only assume that she was an acquaintance of Yue by the way she and Yue talked,' Kero said.  
  
'There's something strange about her. She's a magician but she also feels like a Card or a Guardian,' Eriol said frowning. Sakura nodded and struggled to keep her eyes open. Kaho noticed. 'I think we can continue this without Sakura,' she said. Kero changed into his human form and picked Sakura up. Suppi followed him to her room.  
  
Kero laid her down carefully and covered her up. 'Are you okay?' Suppi asked hugging Kero from behind. Kero nodded still staring at his mistress. 'I just never thought I'd see Yue again,' he said.  
  
'You were very close to him weren't you,' Suppi asked shrewdly. Kero nodded. 'He was my older brother. The one I went to for advice. And then he just left me as if I didn't matter,' pain infused his voice. Suppi hugged him harder and laid his head on Kero's back.  
  
'Well he's back,' Suppi whispered.  
  
'I know but he's just changed so much,' Kero whispered back.  
  
'I'm sure he's still the same. Come on let's leave Sakura alone,' Suppi said pulling him out the door. Kero turned off the light and closed the door.  
  
A minute later the window blew open. A white figure with wings flew into the room. Yue bent down to touch Sakura's hair. 'So young,' he whispered. He leaned closer and brushed her forehead with his lips. Sakura sighed and smiled slightly.  
  
'Sweet dreams Little One,' Yue said straightening. He disappeared again. A white feather fell on Sakura's face and landed in her hand. Her hand wrapped around the feather instinctively. 


	5. Chapter Five

'Morning,' Sakura said as Touya and Kaho came in.  
  
'You're early,' Touya said blankly.  
  
'Mhmm,' Sakura said putting the French toast on a plate. 'Wow,' Kero said as he and Suppi came. 'Stayed the night did you?' Sakura asked Suppi. He blushed a hot red.  
  
'And I'm betting that either Tsuki went over to Eriol's or Nakuru stayed here,' Sakura said smiling.  
  
'First one,' Suppi said sitting down tiredly.  
  
'How are you feeling?' Sakura asked.  
  
'Aren't we supposed to ask you that?' Kero asked.  
  
'I'm perfectly fine,' Sakura insisted.  
  
'Are you going to go to school?' Touya asked.  
  
'Yes,' Sakura said sitting down with them, 'why wouldn't I?'  
  
'I just thought you might like to stay in for today,' Touya said.  
  
'You wouldn't be trying to keep me away from Yue would you?' Sakura asked silkily.  
  
'He's dangerous,' Touya protested.  
  
'I can look after myself,' Sakura pointedly out calmly.  
  
'You weren't doing that on Saturday,' Touya said.  
  
'Yue would never hurt me,' Sakura said pleasantly.  
  
'How would you know?' Kero demanded.  
  
'How do you know he'll hurt me? From what you said he rescued me. If you can't trust my decision then that's your problem,' Sakura shrugged.  
  
She finished off her meal and stood up. 'Now I need to go to school,' she said grabbing her bag. The others stared after her in shock. 'She's grown up,' Kaho said proudly.  
  
'It's not such a good thing if she's gonna get killed,' Kero growled.  
  
'Whether or not she gets hurt, it's her decision now. She's been fighting rival magicians for over a year now and winning each time. Why should this time be any different? It's her faith that's kept her going. If we start doubting her now she may get killed,' Kaho said quietly.  
  
Kero and Touya nodded reluctantly. 'Thank god Nakuru and I never had to go through this with Eriol,' Suppi said with relief.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura waited at the sakura tree patiently. She smiled as the breeze caressed her cheeks. It was a good day, she decided. A feeling made her turn around. She saw Yue walking with his head down. She smiled.  
  
'Yue!!' she called running to catch up with him. He looked up with surprised grey eyes. 'Sakura,' he said stunned that he hadn't noticed her aura.  
  
Sakura smiled as she came face to face with him. Yue's eyes went cool. Sakura's smile faltered under his cold stare. 'Yes?' he asked coldly. Sakura looked down uncertainly.  
  
'I...um...just...just wanted to say...um,' Yue waited for her to finish.  
  
'Sakura,' an angry voice said. Sakura turned around and saw Syaoron staring at Yue with anger. Tomoyo was looking at Sakura concernedly. 'What?' she asked.  
  
'Get away from him. You know what Kero and Touya said,' Syaoron snapped. Yue laughed coldly. 'So Kero thinks I'm a bad influence on his mistress. Perhaps he is right,' Yue said smiling faintly. When Sakura turned back he was already walking away.  
  
'You should keep away from him,' Syaoron said walking up to Sakura with Tomoyo. He wasn't prepared for the way Sakura turned to him with anger and frustration.  
  
'Why can't any of you understand? He wouldn't hurt me!! Why does he have to be evil just because we don't know him? Kero might know him but he hasn't seen Yue for centuries. What makes Kero think he knows Yue? Why can't anyone trust me to know what I'm doing?' she snapped angrily.  
  
She whirled around and stalked off after Yue in the direction of the school leaving Syaoron and Tomoyo staring after her with hurt and shock.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
She wasn't proud of the way she had snapped but then again, this whole situation with Yue was just so ridiculous. No one had given her any good reason to treat him as an enemy yet they expected her to stay away from him as if he was the embodiment of evil.  
  
'We have got quite a temper, haven't we?' a coolly amused voice said. Sakura looked up to see Akuma sitting on the tree above her. She smiled at Sakura's surprise and jumped down lightly.  
  
'Friends no more?' she asked walking over to stand in front of Sakura. 'What do you want?' Sakura snapped not backing down.  
  
'I just wanted to see my rival,' she said smiling.  
  
'Rival for what?' Sakura asked feeling confused.  
  
'Rival for the Cards and Yue of course, what else,' she said smiling whimsically. Sakura blinked.  
  
'Yue? Why?' she asked.  
  
'You don't know,' Akuma said looking stunned. Then she began to laugh, 'this is just precious. You seriously don't know?'  
  
Sakura frowned. 'Of course I don't. Do you think I would be asking if I knew,' she snapped. The woman laughed again and stepped back. 'Well if you don't know, all the more advantages to me,' she said. Before Sakura could say anything she disappeared.  
  
Sakura frowned and began walking. ~What is up with that woman and Yue~ she thought. They were just so mysterious. She entered the school and walked to her classroom quickly.  
  
'Are you all right?' Kaho asked as Sakura came in. Sakura nodded absently and sat down in her class. Kaho walked over to her.  
  
'What's wrong Sakura?' Kaho asked sitting down in the seat next to Sakura. She looked up with a frown. 'That woman, Akuma, met me on the way to school,' she said flatly. Kaho's eyes opened wide.  
  
'What? Why?' she asked. Sakura shrugged.  
  
'She said she wanted to see her rival,' Sakura said.  
  
'Rival? For what?' Kaho asked intensely.  
  
'She told me rival for the Cards and...' Sakura hesitated.  
  
'And?' Kaho prompted.  
  
'And for Yue,' Sakura finished.  
  
'Yue?' Kaho said.  
  
'Yes,' a voice answered from the doorway.  
  
'Hoooeeee,' Sakura yelped as she saw Yue. He stared at her as if she was mad. 'I came to thank Sakura for inviting me on Saturday. It was very interesting,' Yue said.  
  
'Your welcome,' Sakura said dazed. Then she snapped out of it when Yue turned to go. 'Wait a minute,' she said running over to Yue. As he turned she tripped on the leg of a chair. She went flying.  
  
Yue dashed forward and caught her. He straightened her up. Sakura blushed. 'I just wanted to say thank you for rescuing me just now and on Saturday,' Sakura said looking down.  
  
Yue used his two fingers to make her look up. 'I'll forget the debt if you tell me why you were talking about me just now,' he said looking into her eyes. Sakura squirmed.  
  
'All right, fine,' she muttered when Yue wouldn't let go.  
  
'I met Akuma on the way to school. She told me I was her rival for the Cards and you,' Sakura muttered. Yue leaned against a desk and folded his arm. 'So Akuma came to see you,' he repeated. Sakura nodded.  
  
'Do you know why she would consider me her rival? I mean the Cards I can understand but you...' Sakura trailed off. Yue smiled.  
  
'Yes I do know what she means,' he said. Sakura looked at him expectantly. 'Well what does she mean?' Sakura said when he didn't answer. 'You'll find out,' Yue said calmly. Sakura glared at him.  
  
Yue laughed and leaned over to cup her cheek. 'Don't worry little one. It doesn't concern you...yet,' he said stroking her cheek. Sakura bit her lips and nodded. She was willing to trust Yue for now.  
  
He leaned back and walked out of the class. 'That was very interesting,' Kaho said coming over to Sakura. She frowned and nodded. She didn't like it one bit. But she would trust Yue.  
  
There was no other chance to talk as other students came in. Sakura ignored the concerned and hurt looks Tomoyo and Syaoron threw her.  
  
'Class we have two new students. Eriol Hiiragazawa and Li Meiling. They are both from England,' Kaho introduced.  
  
Eriol and Meiling stepped forward. 'My name is Eriol Hiiragazawa. I used to go to primary school with Sakura, Tomoyo and Syaoron.'  
  
'My name is Li Meiling. Li Syaoron is my cousin. And I used to go to school with them too,' she said smiling.  
  
'Eriol sit behind Sakura and Meiling beside him,' Kaho directed.  
  
Eriol and Meiling sat down and pulled out their work. Eriol frowned. There was something going on between Sakura and Tomoyo and Syaoron. He would find out later, he promised himself.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
//Lunch//  
  
'What's going on?' Eriol asked. Tomoyo looked up with surprise. 'What do you mean?' she asked.  
  
'I mean what's going on with Sakura,' Eriol said dryly.  
  
'Oh, that,' Tomoyo looked down.  
  
'Yes that,' Eriol said sternly.  
  
'This morning we sort of made her angry,' Tomoyo said.  
  
'How,' Eriol asked.  
  
'She was talking to Yue and we stopped her,' Tomoyo said.  
  
'Well, this is interesting,' Eriol said.  
  
'What's interesting?' Syaoron asked.  
  
'Don't worry your little brain about it my cute little descendant,' Eriol said with a grin.  
  
Syaoron growled and glared at Eriol. Eriol laughed and stood up. 'Where're you going?' Meiling asked.  
  
'To see Sakura,' he said.  
  
'I'll come with you,' Meiling said scrambling to stand up. Eriol smiled and helped her up. 'Why not,' he said lightly. Holding hands they walked up to the classroom where Sakura was doing her assignment.  
  
'Sakura,' Eriol said when they sat down beside her.  
  
'Yes,' she said not looking up.  
  
'You know that they are only worried about you,' Eriol began.  
  
'Mmhmm,' Sakura muttered.  
  
'So please try to understand. They find it hard to let your childhood go,' Eriol said.  
  
'Of course they do,' Sakura murmured.  
  
'So please try to respect their wishes. And are you listening?' Eriol asked. 'Of course I am,' Sakura said.  
  
'Then repeat what I just said,' Eriol demanded. Now Sakura looked up. 'Sakura, you know they are only worried about you. So please try to understand. They find it hard to let your childhood go. So please try to respect their wishes. And are you listening. Then repeat what I just said,' Sakura rattled off rapidly looking back down.  
  
Meiling laughed. 'She's got you now Eriol,' she teased. Eriol rolled his eyes. 'Yes she does,' he muttered.  
  
'So could you try to be more...' Eriol searched for the word.  
  
'Tactful?' Sakura suggested. Eriol nodded relieved that Sakura understood. 'Sure as long as they understand that I can handle things on my own,' Sakura said candidly. Eriol groaned with frustration.  
  
'Sakura stop being so difficult,' an amused voice said. Sakura turned around and stared at Yue. 'Yue, this doesn't involve you,' she said pleasantly. Yue smiled faintly. 'Of course it does since Kero believes that I will corrupt your innocent soul,' he said coolly amused.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes. 'I have the greatest respects for Kero, however I am the mistress,' she said amiably. Yue stared at her then shook his head. 'Now I know why Akuma likes you,' he said.  
  
'Thank you...I think,' Sakura said looking unsure.  
  
'Try to be more understanding,' he said. Sakura snorted.  
  
'Now even my supposed enemy is advising me to listen to my guardians,' Sakura said huffily. 'And he'd be right,' Kaho said. Yue nodded his greetings. Sakura scowled and nodded. 'All right, I'll be the perfect angel,' she said smiling angelically to prove her point.  
  
Yue ruffled her hair and walked away. 'That was very interesting,' Eriol said standing up. 'I love being around Sakura, it's so fun,' Meiling said sitting down in her place as the bell rang. Sakura poked her tongue out.  
  
Tomoyo and Syaoron looked very confused when they saw how happy Sakura looked. 'I'm sorry for being so touchy this morning,' Sakura said. Tomoyo smiled. 'I'm sorry for being so protective,' Tomoyo said.  
  
Sakura hid her hurt. Tomoyo hadn't said anything about Yue. But that was the best she was going to get. She smiled back and didn't let the thought worry her.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'Where's Sakura?' Syaoron asked Tomoyo.  
  
'She stayed behind to help Kaho,' Tomoyo answered as they rounded a corner.  
  
'Goody, some fun,' a voice said behind them. Syaoron and Tomoy turned and saw Akuma standing in front of them with a wide smile. Syaoron grasped his sword. 'Not this time Little Wolf,' she said snapping her fingers. The sword disappeared and reappeared in her hands. She dropped it carelessly on the ground.  
  
'Since the little tenshi is off limits to me, I guess I'll have to play with you,' she remarked walking closer. She stopped a couple of feet away and held up a hand.  
  
A red ball formed in her hands. She held her hand up higher. The ball glowed and flew up high. It stopped when it was a couple of meters high. It paused then dropped down to Syaoron and Tomoyo. It hit Syaoron in the chest and sent him flying. Akuma released another ball of energy toward Tomoyo.  
  
'Shield Card. Release and dispel!!' The ball was deflected by an invisible shield.  
  
Tomoyo and Syaoron looked up and saw Sakura standing with her wand. 'No one hurts my friends,' she told Akuma. The dark haired woman smiled and threw a ball of energy at Sakura. She back flipped and landed on her feet. 'Shot Card release and dispel,' she called.  
  
The Card took on its physical form and began to attack Akuma. Akuma waved a hand and deflected two of its shots. One went to the Shot and brought it down. The second one went to Sakura.  
  
Before it could hit however she was pushed out of the way. She looked up from the ground and saw Yue leaning against a wall. He was holding up a hand. He put it down and pushed off the wall. He stretched his wings halfway and folded them again.  
  
'Akuma I thought you promised not to harm Sakura. And yet here you are attacking her and what was it I heard about you talking to her this morning?' Yue asked.  
  
Akuma laughed mockingly. 'I never said I would stay away from her, I only said I wouldn't harm her. As for now, she did attack me first.' Then she tiled her head. 'Why so protective?' she asked.  
  
'She is my mistress,' Yue said walking over to Sakura.  
  
'Don't you mean she could have been your mistress? After all you did abandon Clow,' Akuma mocked watching Yue help Sakura stand up.  
  
'Nonetheless,' Yue said letting go of Sakura.  
  
'You can't even admit to yourself can you?' Akuma asked with malicious pleasure. Yue stare back impassively. She laughed once more and stepped back. 'Well that was a lot more interesting and informative than I thought it would be,' she said disappearing. Yue turned his back on her and turned to Sakura.  
  
'Are you all right?' he asked gently. She rotated her shoulders and nodded. 'Perfect,' she said smiling to reassure him.  
  
'Are you positive?' Tomoyo asked.  
  
'I should be asking you that. Are you two okay?' she asked Syaoron and Tomoyo. They both nodded. Then they turned to Yue. 'I guess we were wrong about you,' Syaoron began. He was stopped by Yue's laugh.  
  
'You weren't wrong about me at all. Those stories you've heard about me from Kero are very much the truth. I'm just not out to corrupt or kill Sakura, quite the opposite in fact.'  
  
Sakura smiled at the nonplussed expression on her friends' faces. 'I told you he wouldn't hurt me,' she said with a smirk. Yue stroked her cheek and stepped back. He changed back into Akari Yue. 'Come home with us,' Sakura suggested with a smile.  
  
'I don't think your family is ready to face me yet,' Yue said shaking his head. Sakura made a moue of disappointment. Then she smiled again. 'Oh well, I'll see you tomorrow,' she said brightly. Yue nodded and left.  
  
'Let's not tell anyone about this okay,' Sakura begged Tomoyo and Syaoron. They looked at each other then nodded reluctantly.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
'What happened to you?' Touya asked looking at her clothes.  
  
'I fell over,' Sakura said going up stairs.  
  
'Normally I would believe her but I get the feeling that isn't quite the truth,' he said to Kero.  
  
'I guess she'll tell us when she's ready,' Kero said shrugging. 


	6. Chapter Six

This is a really long one because I want to make up for the fact that I haven't updated for several weeks. Please forgive me everyone. And as always keep reviewing.  
  
**************************************************************************** *********************  
  
'I can't believe this,' Sakura said looking outside. It was pouring cats and dogs. 'Guess you're going to get a little wet,' Kero observed. Sakura glared at the cheerfulness in his voice.  
  
'Thank you Kero,' she said sarcastically.  
  
'Use a card,' Tsuki suggested. Sakura shook her head reluctantly.  
  
'I'll just have to try and not splash water,' she said morosely pulling out an umbrella. She took a deep breath and plunged into the pouring rain.  
  
She ran as fast as she could to school.  
  
When she was finally inside she sighed. She put the umbrella in her locker and went to class. She sat down uncomfortably. ~At least I'm not the only one wet~ she observed looking at the other students.  
  
'Class we some good news. This year we have decided to start a buddy system. Terada-sensei's class and our class are pairing students up. Each week we will be spending an hour with our buddy doing various activities,' Kaho said with a smile. People began to talk excitedly.  
  
'We will be going to their classes first up to pair up. Then every second week it will be held in our class. So let's go quietly to Terada-sensei's class room.'  
  
Students got up and walked to the other classroom talking quietly. 'I wonder who I'll get?' Tomoyo said smiling excitedly. Syaoron grunted and Eriol smiled. Meiling hugged Eriol's arm with a grin.  
  
They entered the classroom feeling shy. Sakura cheered up when Yue smiled at her. She smiled back and looked around. The older students were curious and also a little shy.  
  
'Because this is a buddy system we have decided that it would be best if we called each other by their first name. Kaho and I will pair up. Since there aren't enough students in Kaho's class some of you will have two buddies,' Terada said smiling.  
  
'Li Syaoron, Saruki Shana.'  
  
'Daiidouji Tomoyo, Kanami Mika.'  
  
'Li Meiling, Shokuri Ketsuke.'  
  
'Hiiragazawa Eriol, Koru Saori.'  
  
Finally only Sakura was left. 'Sakura since you are the last one left you have two buddies, Akari Yue and Shimaka Keori,' Terada-sensei said.  
  
Yue and a girl stepped forward. Sakura, Eriol and Syaoron her friends gaped. Kaho frowned. The girl had long black hair and red eyes. She smiled innocently but they weren't fooled. Akuma was one of Sakura's buddies.  
  
Kaho walked over to the three of them. 'I trust nothing disastrous will happen in these sessions,' she warned Yue and Keori. Yue nodded. Keori smiled.  
  
'Today will be spent just learning about each other,' Kaho said.  
  
Sakura nodded and turned to Keori. 'What are you doing here?' she asked her voice serious.  
  
'I want to enjoy life as a normal teenager for now. You have no idea how good you have it. It's great being normal for a while,' Keori said sitting back.  
  
'You mean you won't attack us in this form but you will attack us in your other form?' Sakura asked carefully. Keori considered her question then nodded. 'I don't like attacking you but I have to. After all you are my opposite.' Sakura stared at her confused.  
  
'It's okay little one, I don't understand it either,' Yue said tugging her hair. She tilted her head curiously. 'Why do you keep calling me little one?' she asked.  
  
'Because you're little compared to me,' Yue said.  
  
Keori shuddered. 'It's scary seeing you acting so...nice,' she teased. Yue stared at Keori with mild amusement. 'How are you related to each other?' Sakura asked suddenly curious.  
  
'Yue and I go back quite a long way,' was all Keori would say. Sakura turned to Yue. 'We are...acquaintances,' Yue said delicately.  
  
'I don't think so. I would have to say you two were lovers or at least close friends,' Sakura said observantly. Yue and Keori froze.  
  
'What makes you say that?' Yue asked carefully. They were both shocked that she was so perceptive. She shrugged carelessly. 'No reason, I just had a feeling,' she said.  
  
'So are you going to answer?' Sakura asked when they said nothing. Yue fidgeted. 'Sort of,' he muttered.  
  
'What do you mean sort of?' Sakura demanded.  
  
'He meant we were for a while,' Keori answered.  
  
'He broke it off didn't he?' Sakura asked.  
  
'What makes you so sure?' Keori asked in reply.  
  
'Because you don't look like the type to let anything go,' Sakura said with a grin.  
  
'True,' Keori replied modestly.  
  
'You know Akuma I like you better this way,' Yue observed. Keori grinned. 'I like me better this way too. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up,' she warned the both of them for a moment sounding like Akuma.  
  
'Why do you think I own Yue?' Sakura asked out of the blue.  
  
'Because you do own Yue,' Keori said. The girls had effectively blocked out Yue from the conversation. 'What do you mean?' Sakura asked frustrated. 'You own his heart,' Keori explained.  
  
'Pardon?' Sakura asked. Keori sighed.  
  
'Is she always this clueless?' she asked the ceiling.  
  
'Unfortunately yes,' two voices said.  
  
Sakura glared at Tomoyo and Meiling. 'Some friends,' she muttered. They laughed. The rest of the hour was spent just talking and fooling around.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sakura considered the morning's activity as she walked home. ~Akuma, no, Keori is really nice when she's in her false form. Too bad she isn't always like that~ she thought sadly. Then she brightened up. ~I might as well like her when she's Keori and hate her while she's Akuma~.  
  
'Sakura,' a voice called. Sakura looked back and saw Yue. She smiled. 'Hello Yue,' she said as he caught up to her.  
  
'What are you doing?' she asked.  
  
'Just walking you home,' he said.  
  
'Why?' he never walked her home before.  
  
'Let's just say I want to meet certain people,' he shrugged. Sakura nodded accepting his reason.  
  
A block away from her house the rain, which had stopped for a while, poured down again. And it wasn't gradual, it poured down in buckets. Sakura yelped and grabbed Yue's hand. They dashed to her house trying not to get their bags wet.  
  
They stumbled in with their clothes completely soaked through. Sakura shook off the water and pulled her hair back. She took him up stairs and rummaged around in her brother's closet. She came back out with a bundle of clothes.  
  
'Here, just wear these for the time being,' she said handing the clothes to Yue. He looked at them dubiously. 'I'm sure my brother won't mind,' Sakura reassured.  
  
He shook his head and gave them back. Wings covered his body and he changed into the other form of Yue. She shrugged and put down the clothes.  
  
She took a minute to change into long pants and a long sleeved top. Yue's hand went up to his hair. 'Unfortunately this doesn't help my hair,' he said ruefully.  
  
Sakura smiled and took him to her room. She pulled out a brush from her dressing table. 'Sit down,' she said pointing to the bed. Yue looked at her skeptically before he sat down. She pulled his hair out and spread it around the bed.  
  
She began to untangle his hair, careful not to hurt him. It took her a long time but by the end she was happy with her work. She picked up her brush and separated his hair into two parts. She grabbed one half and began to brush it, then the second half. Finally she brushed it all together.  
  
While she brushed she marveled at the texture of his hair. The harsh metallic colour made it look brittle and sharp; instead it was soft and silky. She was absorbed in her work and blocked out the rest of the world.  
  
Yue relaxed under her gentle administration. It was like the old days when Clow would brush his hair for him. When Kero would try to mess his hair up at the same time. He closed his eyes and let himself drifted. It was good to finally relax and just stop worrying.  
  
'SAKURA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' Yue's eyes snapped opened. It was Kero. The small bear was staring at the scene in front of him with horror. Yue got up and glared at him. 'Brushing my hair, what does it look like?' he asked coldly. Kero growled and changed into his true form.  
  
He crouched and prepared to attack. Yue's eyes flashed and his hand went up, ready to attack as well. Sakura stood up and called up her staff silently. She grasped it and stood between them.  
  
'You can both stop now or I can give you both a very cold shower,' she promised. Kero growled and backed off, although he didn't change. Yue bowed to Sakura and stepped away. She sighed.  
  
'Let's go downstairs. And Kero, nothing happened,' she said sternly. Kero glared. 'Then why did he come?' he asked.  
  
'Because I wanted to see my little brother and sister and the rest of my family of course,' Yue answered following Sakura.  
  
'I'm not your little brother,' Kero growled.  
  
'I am considerably older than you and we were created by the same person. That makes me your older brother. And Tsuki, whom I've never met, is my little sister,' Yue concluded as they reached the living room.  
  
'You abandoned us, you no longer belong to the family,' Kero snapped. Yue looked down. 'Perhaps you are right,' he said. Kero was too angry to notice the sorrow in his voice but Sakura wasn't. She touched his hand supportively. Yue smiled down at the caring girl.  
  
'Why *are* you here?' Sakura asked Yue. He shrugged.  
  
'To see some people and explain a few things,' Yue said. Kero stared at him then changed back to his false form. He seemed ready to accept Yue for now.  
  
'What were you doing in Sakura's room,' he asked curiously.  
  
'Nothing,' Yue replied, his cheeks were pink. Kero sniggered.  
  
'Oh, really?' he leered. Sakura blushed.  
  
'We got caught in the rain. He got wet and so did his hair. I was drying it for him,' she said. Kero gave her a knowing look. 'Sure you were,' he said suggestively. Sakura's blush intensified. She grabbed a cushion and put it over Kero. 'Yes we were, so get your mind out of the gutter!!!' she yelled.  
  
'Ahem,' a voice interrupted her tirade. She looked up and saw all of her friends and family staring at her strangely. There was a brief period of silence then all hell broke loose.  
  
'What's he doing here?'  
  
'What are you doing to Kero?'  
  
'Why is he here?'  
  
'Why are you smothering Kero?'  
  
The questions kept coming fast and furious. Finally Sakura couldn't take it. 'Silence, make them quiet. Silence Card release and dispel.' Instantly there was no noise. Sakura sighed with relief. 'I can explain let's just calm down first,' she said. They looked at each other then sat down.  
  
Sakura smiled and took away the magic. 'Now first question,' she invited.  
  
'What is he doing here?' Touya asked pointing at Yue.  
  
'I don't know,' Sakura said frankly.  
  
'Why were you suffocating Kero?' Suppi asked.  
  
'He made a comment which I found insulting,' Sakura glared at the sniggering Kero.  
  
'What are you doing here?' Eriol asked Yue. He smiled.  
  
'Would you believe I wanted to see my family,' he asked. Eriol shook his head no. He sighed.  
  
'I came to warn you,' he said finally.  
  
'Why?' Tsuki asked staring at the rogue guardian.  
  
'Because you are my family,' he said with a shrug.  
  
'Remember what I said,' Kero said seriously. Yue smiled faintly.  
  
'You may have given up on me but I haven't given up on you,' he said with a wry smile.  
  
'What's the warning?' Kaho asked.  
  
'Akuma or Keori, in whatever form is very dangerous. She wants Sakura and the Cards and she will use anyone of you to get to her. Try not to go around alone. She will attack when you are at your weakest,' Yue said gravely.  
  
'Are you still looked for the Angel Card?' Nakuru asked out of the blue. Yue looked at him then shook his head. 'Not any more,' he answered.  
  
'Why?' Sakura asked.  
  
'Because she told me not to,' he answered. Everyone stared at him in shock. 'You mean you've seen her?' Kero asked.  
  
'No, she spoke to me in my dream. She told me not to look for her. She told me to protect the Card Mistress and she'll come to me,' Yue answered. Sakura smiled a brilliant smile. 'Don't worry she'll come,' she promised. Yue smiled and flicked her cheek. 'Thank you Little One,' he said.  
  
He stood up and changed into his false form. 'Thank you for listening to me,' he said turning to go.  
  
'Yue, you can't go yet. It's still raining,' Sakura said standing up. He turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. 'I am quite capable of looking after myself,' he said haughtily.  
  
'Yue, your false form is human with all the weaknesses of humans. If your false form gets sick you can't protect me. If you can't protect me you've broken your promise to the Angel,' Sakura said sweetly.  
  
Yue glared back. She didn't back down. The others were watching with curiosity and amusement. Finally Yue gave in. He nodded.  
  
Sakura smiled a brilliant smile. 'Great, you can sleep in the spare room next to mine. Touya and Syaoron can help me set it up,' she said enthusiastically. Touya and Syaoron both groaned but they couldn't resist her pleading look. They stood up resignedly.  
  
Tomoyo stood up as well. 'I'll help make it pretty,' she said. Everyone, including Sakura, looked at her strangely. 'What?' she protested.  
  
'He's staying for one night,' Meiling pointed out.  
  
'So? I can still make it nice for him to sleep in.' Then she grinned. 'Besides this is the first time Sakura's had a boy for a sleep over. I need to make it special.' Then she turned and ran up the stairs.  
  
Yue and Sakura blushed. Sakura scrambled out of her chair and ran after Tomoyo. 'Tomoyo, you're dead!!' she yelled running upstairs. Everyone looked at everyone else with amusement.  
  
'Yue likes Sakura, Yue likes Sakura,' Kero chanted. He snickered and hid behind Eriol when Yue glared at him. 'Yue likes Sakura,' he taunted.  
  
'Kero stop now because I doubt I can protect you from Yue,' Eriol said with great amusement. 'He told me I was his little brother, I'm just giving him all the benefits that come with it,' Kero protested. Yue glared at him icily.  
  
'Come on Big Brother, have a sense of humour,' Kero mocked. Yue smiled coolly. He waved his hand and Kero was instantly soaked in ice cold water. He gasped with the shock.  
  
'What are you going to do now Little Brother,' Yue goaded. Kero growled and changed. Yue smiled as Kero leapt toward him. He stepped aside and with a quick twist he put Kero in a hold.  
  
'Tsuki, help!!!' Kero yelled struggling. Yue rolled his eyes and let him go. 'Kero, you've never been able to beat me before, what makes you think you can now?' he asked stepping back. Kero glared mutely before transforming back.  
  
Tsuki looked from one to the other. 'Amazing isn't it how one person could create three creatures with such contrasting personalities?' Yue asked her. She stared at him intensely.  
  
Yue waited for her to finish. 'You aren't exactly what I pictured my older brother to be like,' she said finally. Yue raised his eyebrow. He nodded his head. 'Thank you for that compliment,' he said.  
  
'It's time for dinner I believe,' Eriol cut in. Tsuki slapped her head.  
  
'I forgot it was my turn to cook!' she exclaimed.  
  
'Thank god,' Kero muttered. The moon guardian turned to her counterpart with a fake smile. 'What was that Kero-chan?' she asked sweetly. Kero laughed nervously at the maniacal light in her eyes. He sidled over to stand beside Yue.  
  
'Thank god you didn't forget I meant,' Kero lied.  
  
'Good,' she snarled before walking into the kitchen.  
  
'Whew,' Kero sighed with relief, 'that girl is scary when you insult her cooking.'  
  
'Kero get your butt in here and help me!!' Tsuki yelled from the kitchen. Kero sighed and, with his head down, walked into the kitchen. Yue laughed silently. Eriol glanced at the other people in the room. They took the hint and left.  
  
Yue and his former master stared at each other silently. Neither of them wanted to make the first move yet they both knew things had to be resolved soon.  
  
'It's nice to see you again,' Eriol said in a much deeper and mature voice than before. Yue's eyes widened fractionally as he realised that it was Clow speaking not Eriol. Then he regained his equilibrium.  
  
'Is it?' he asked bitterly.  
  
'Of course,' Clow answered affably. Yue didn't answer.  
  
'How are you?' Clow asked finally. Yue shrugged.  
  
'Fine,' he said blandly.  
  
'There was a time when I could have demanded a true answer and you would have gladly given it,' Clow observed. Yue smiled coldly.  
  
'Those times are gone,' he said with dismissive gesture.  
  
'Yes,' Clow murmured looking at his creation with bemusement.  
  
'Why do you stay to protect Sakura?' he asked.  
  
'Because she told me to,' Yue replied.  
  
'You trust her no matter what she says, don't you?' Clow asked sounding fascinated.  
  
'I know she wouldn't lie to me,' Yue said coldly, unlike some people, he seemed to be saying with his eyes.  
  
'I am sorry,' Clow sounded tired. Yue didn't relent.  
  
'So am I, that I didn't have the courage to confront you with the truth,' he said turning around to go into kitchen.  
  
They looked up then looked down quickly when Yue and Eriol came into the kitchen. Yue didn't say anything as he began to set the table.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo came thundering down the stair as Syaoron and Touya followed more sedately. 'We're done,' they chorused brightly. Yue smiled at the forever-happy brunette.  
  
'Is there anything pink in my temporary room?' he asked suspiciously. The guilty look Tomoyo and Sakura gave each other was enough. 'We tried not to,' Sakura reassured hurriedly, 'but there was only the pink bed sheet and pillow left.'  
  
Yue stared at her with narrowed eyes then nodded resignedly. 'Yue, do you ever smile just for fun?' Sakura asked exasperatedly. Yue grinned maliciously at her. 'Without looking like evil incarnate,' she said with laughter in her eyes. Yue smiled reluctantly at the laughing girl.  
  
'Yue likes Sakura,' Kero muttered under his breath. His 'brother' didn't even bother to look at him. Kero yelped as the lower half of his body was covered in ice.  
  
'YUE!!' Kero yelled struggling to get out. Yue smirked and watched his efforts with malicious amusement. Finally Tsuki took pity on him and broke the ice.  
  
'Serves you right,' Sakura reprimanded.  
  
'Everyone knows he likes you and that the feeling is mutual,' he protested. Sakura's eyes narrowed. She approached the winged teddy bear with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.  
  
Kero tried to escape but Yue caught him before he could. Everyone covered their ears as Kero yelled. 'Stop tickling me!!!' Kero yelled struggling. Sakura wouldn't give up though. Kero's yells were interspersed with giggles. 'All right, I give up,' he gasped out amidst laughter.  
  
Sakura took pity and stepped back. 'Let that be a lesson,' she said shaking a finger in Kero's face. 'Spoilsport,' Kero muttered. Sakura ignored him and helped Yue set up the table.  
  
A few minutes later everyone was seated and eating. 'It's pretty good Tsuki,' Tomoyo complimented. Tsuki glowed with pride. 'That's 'cause I helped her,' Kero boasted. Tsuki glared at Kero with annoyance. Kero ducked from the glare.  
  
'How come everyone's picking on me?' he whined.  
  
'Because you are an annoying little stuffed toy,' Yue said calmly.  
  
'I can't believe it, Yue and Syaoron agree on something,' Eriol teased. 'That's because Kero *is* a stuffed toy,' the amber-eyed boy said. Kero blew a raspberry at him and sulked. Everyone, even Sakura, laughed at him.  
  
Nakuru noticed that Yue and Tsuki didn't eat anything. She looked from one to the other. 'Like brother, like sister I guess,' she commented. The two looked at each other then at Nakuru.  
  
'Why bother, I don't need the energy from food,' Yue said with an indifferent shrug. 'Why not?' Meiling asked intrigued.  
  
'My element is the star. Stars produce their own light,' Yue said. Clow, inside of Eriol, smiled at the star guardian's choice of words. Those were the same words he had spoken to Sakura six years ago. 'Like Sakura's element?' Tomoyo asked. Yue nodded. Nakuru turned to Tsuki. 'What about you?' she asked. Tsuki smiled and shook her head.  
  
'I'm not feeling very hungry,' she said placidly.  
  
'All the more for me,' Kero said stuffing his face.  
  
'I thought you said my cooking was bad,' Tsuki said slyly. Kero shrugged. 'It's food,' he said as if that explained everything. Tsuki rolled her eyes.  
  
'I'm feeling kind of tired, is it okay if I miss out on the cleaning?' she asked. They all nodded. Sakura smiled and went upstairs.  
  
As soon as she was out of hearing range they focused all of their attention on Yue.  
  
'What are you hiding from us?' Eriol demanded.  
  
'What makes you think that?' Yue coolly asked.  
  
'I was your creator and former master,' Eriol said coldly.  
  
'It has been 400 years since I last saw you. What makes you think you know me now?' Yue snapped.  
  
'Stop being so damned stubborn,' Kero growled.  
  
'Please Yue, just a clue to help us,' Tsuki asked. Yue stared at the younger guardian then nodded. 'This is for the younger sister I have never met before and for Sakura, not for Eriol or Clow or Kero. The reason Akuma wants Sakura is because of something other than the cards or myself.'  
  
'What?' Touya asked.  
  
'Who you mean,' Yue said wryly.  
  
'Who, then?' Touya asked.  
  
'Next time you see Sakura, ask her about her dreams,' Yue said enigmatically. Before anyone could say anything he went upstairs. 'I hate it when he does that,' Kero sighed.  
  
'Does what?' Tomoyo asked the sun guardian.  
  
'The whole I-know-something-you-don't-know-but-I-won't-tell-you thing,' Kero grumbled.  
  
'I think we should clean up now,' Kaho suggested getting up. Everyone agreed and got up. Afterwards Kero and Tsuki voted to stay behind to guard their mistress while the others went home.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
That night Kero woke up suddenly. Something was wrong. He stayed still and spread his magic sense around to feel the danger. He tensed and growled when he felt the aura. Tsuki woke up and opened her mouth to speak but was stopped by Kero's glare. They stood up silently and went out side.  
  
They flew up to the roof and stopped as they saw the source of their discomfort. It was Akuma sitting on the roof as if she was waiting for someone. She turned as they came closer. 'I've been waiting for you,' she said simply. Kero and Tsuki landed on the roof and folded their wings.  
  
'Why?' Kero growled.  
  
'To get the little Tenshi I need to get rid of her guardians,' Akuma said with a wide grin. 'What about Yue?' Tsuki asked. Akuma laughed. 'Yue won't interfere, in fact he'll help me,' she said triumphantly.  
  
'Why?' Kero asked again.  
  
'Because he knows what has to happen,' Akuma hissed. Kero and Tsuki took a step back. They tensed and prepared to defend themselves as Akuma stood up. Kero and Tsuki simultaneously attacked. Kero's fire and Tsuki's diamond shards shattered against an invisible shield. 'Thank you Yue,' Akuma said to the sky.  
  
Kero and Tsuki looked up to find Yue floating above them. His stoic face gave nothing away as he stared down at them.  
  
Akuma took advantage of this and fired two red balls of energy at them. Kero and Tsuki were knocked off the roof. Only Yue noticed how the red balls were absorbed into their bodies.  
  
'FLOAT CARD, RELEASE AND DISPEL!!' Kero and Tsuki slowed down as they fell on the ground and landed with a soft thump.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
//'Sakura you have to wake up.'//  
  
Sakura shook her head. 'I don't wanna,' she muttered in her sleep.  
  
//'Sakura.'  
  
The girl opened her eyes and saw with surprise that she was in a garden. 'Sakura,' the same voice called. The young girl whirled around and saw another girl behind her.  
  
She had pale pink hair in two buns with the rest of her hair trailing from them. On her back were feathered wings that were a shade paler than her hair. Her dress was pink with silver linings.  
  
'You're the Angel card aren't you?' Sakura asked. She was surprisingly calm. She knew she should be panicking but she was only mildly surprised.  
  
'Yes,' the girl answered.  
  
'Where are you? Yue's been looking for you,' Sakura said.  
  
'Where I am doesn't matter. But you have to wake up now,' the Angel said urgently. Sakura frowned in confusion.  
  
'But why?' she asked.  
  
'Your Guardians need your help,' the girl answered.  
  
'All right,' Sakura said getting ready to wake up.  
  
'One more thing, whatever Yue may do just remember, he does it for the good of the Card Mistress,' the Angel said before Sakura faded out.//  
  
She sat up with a gasp. That was the weirdest dream. Then she tensed as she sensed fighting above her on the roof. She scrambled out of bed and called up her staff. She first used the sleep and silent card to make sure nothing woke the people in the house. Then she used the Through Card to get outside without anyone knowing.  
  
She gaped as she saw Kero and Tsuki falling off the roof. 'FLOAT CARD, RELEASE AND DISPEL!!' she sighed with relief as the two guardians fell without any harm to them. She looked up and saw Akuma staring at her with malicious humour. She looked up even further and saw Yue staring down with no emotion in his face.  
  
She thought she saw a flash of regret in those purple eyes before it was masked by apathy again. 'I'll be seeing you around,' Akuma said disappearing.  
  
Sakura ran over and checked her guardians for any wounds but could find none. She sighed with relief and sat back. She felt tears well up in her eyes and drop on Kero's fur. She was too young to deal with this. She had defeated lots of magicians but they were nothing compared to Akuma. She was just too strong.  
  
And now her friends were hurt because of her. She wasn't strong enough to defeat Akuma. Just as she hadn't been strong enough to support Tsuki on her own. It just wasn't fair. She wanted only a normal life but ever since the cards appeared her life had been anything but normal.  
  
Tears fell down her cheeks in streams. Her body shook with the effort of keeping it all in. She curled up and wrapped her arms around herself but the tears still kept coming. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her body and white wings shield her from the world.  
  
'With the dark comes light,' a voice whispered in her ears. Sakura gave up the battle and let all her fears, worries and anger free. She felt warm and safe in the shield of wings and arms because she knew nothing could hurt her here.  
  
Yue cradled the young girl in his arms. She was too young to deal with Akuma on her own. He had promised the Angel to protect her and he would do so with his own life. Even if she hated him for what he did now he would still protect her. He soothed her with his presence while she cried.  
  
Finally he felt her go limp with weariness and fatigue. Soon she was asleep. Yue smiled and used his magic to use the Move card. He transported them all inside and laid Sakura on her bed. He pulled up her blanket and made sure she was comfortable.  
  
He leaned down and kissed her softly on the mouth. Sakura sighed with happiness. Yue smiled as he saw the small smile that graced her lips. 'Till tomorrow little one,' he whispered and caressed her cheeks before disappearing in a flurry of light.  
  
**************************************************************************** ************************  
  
Now I wonder why Yue didn't use that little bit of magic before when he was going to go home, hmm? Heheh, I love being evil. I'm so happy that I've managed to finish this long chapter. Thanks Marie for the long review. Please keep the reviews coming. I need them for my morale. Anyway I'll probably update pretty soon. Within this week if possible. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Kero woke up with the biggest headache of his long life. The groans from Tsuki told him that she was feeling the same way. He thought back to last night trying to remember what made him feel this way. He remembered Akuma, and the red balls but there was something else that unsettled him...Kero tensed up as he remembered what exactly happened last night. 

'Good morning,' Sakura said cheerfully. She was already dressed and ready to go to school. Kero glanced at her and stood up tensely. He looked around with narrowed eyes. 

'Where is he?' Kero growled suspiciously. Sakura looked confused and bewildered. 'Who?' she asked tilting her head. 

'Where is Yue?' Kero said baring his teeth aggressively. Sakura blinked. 'He's gone,' she said simply.

'I knew he was a traitor. I knew he was on her side,' Kero said angrily, 'I should've killed him when I had the chance!!' By this time Kaho and Touya had rushed to the room looking concerned. 

'Kero CALM DOWN!!!' Sakura yelled. Everyone looked at her with surprise. 'Yue did what he did because he had to,' Sakura told him quietly. 'How do you know? I've known him longer than you have,' Kero roared. 

'I may not but the Angel knows him a lot better than any of us and I trust her completely,' Sakura snapped. Everything seemed to freeze as they all processed this comment. Kaho stepped in before a fight could break out. 'How about we take some minutes to calm down? We'll meet downstairs in ten minutes,' she said. Kero and Sakura nodded. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ten minutes later they were seated at the dinner table. Kero was beside Tsuki and glaring at his hands. Tsuki was looking very confused between Kero and Sakura. Sakura's head was down not looking at anyone. Touya seemed half asleep while Kaho was the only calm one at the table. 

'Now what happened last night?' she asked looking from Kero to Sakura. They didn't look up or answer. So the task was left to Tsuki. She did so trying to be as unbiased as she could possibly be under the circumstances. 

Touya's face went from half asleep to angry in a matter of minutes. When Tsuki finished he jumped up and banged his hands on the table. 'I knew he was trouble, I knew it!!' he shouted. 

'You've heard Tsuki and Kero's story, you haven't heard mine,' Sakura interrupted. 'What could you possibly say to convince me that Yue isn't evil?' Kero said arguing with his mistress for the first time in a long while. 

'Did you ever wonder how you got back into the house?' Sakura asked with a twist of her lips that passed for a smile. Kero shook his head confused. 'I thought you did that,' he said. Sakura shook her head. 

'Not me, I wasn't in condition to deal with it at the time, Yue was the one who got us all in,' she said.

'So? He still helped Akuma,' Kero challenged. 

'Whatever Yue may do, he does it for the good of the Cardmistress,' Sakura said quoting the Angel. Touya froze. 'Where did you hear that?' he asked. 

'In my dreams, it's seems the Angel _can_ communicate to us through dreams,' Sakura said with a rueful smile. 

Touya thought back to the dream he had last night. A girl with pink wings had visited him in a garden and told him that 'Whatever Yue may do, he does it for the good of the Cardmistress'. Was that the Angel? He shook his head to clear it. 

'It doesn't matter, he is still too dangerous to be friends with,' Touya said sternly. Everyone was surprised when Sakura didn't argue. She got up silently and slung her bag over her shoulders. 

'I'm sorry you feel that way, but I prefer to follow my heart and dreams,' Sakura said quietly opening the door. She slipped out the door and closed it behind her silently. 

Touya sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. 'How did things turn out like this?' he asked the ceiling. Kaho kissed him and began clean up the table. Kero distracted himself by playing the video game and Tsuki hid herself somewhere. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sakura rubbed away the tears in her eyes and walked quickly. She really didn't want to talk to anyone right now, especially not Syaoron or Tomoyo. 

They just didn't understand why she trusted Yue. Kero and Touya thought he was a traitor. Syaoron and Tomoyo didn't trust him. Tsuki and the rest of the guardians didn't know what to think. Kaho, Eriol and Meiling seemed to be the only ones who didn't seem to care. But in Meiling's case it was because Eriol didn't care. 

'Sakura?' a voice asked. She looked up quickly and saw Yue standing in front of her. 'Oh...hi,' she said trying to smile but now succeeding. 

'What's wrong?' Yue asked peering into her eyes. She looked away uncomfortably. 'Nothing,' she muttered under her breath. Two fingers tilted her head up. 'I'm your guardian no matter how much Kero denies it. I know something is wrong,' he said sternly. 

'I...I don't want to talk about it,' Sakura said shielding her emotions from Yue's perceptive eyes. At last he let her go. 'Thank you,' Sakura said beginning to walk again. Yue fell into step beside her and for a while neither one spoke. 

'How did things go this morning?' Yue asked at last. Sakura stole a look at him through the corner of her eyes. He showed no emotion at all. Sakura's silence told him enough. 

'Kero and Touya wants to kill you. Tsuki is confused. Kaho seems be the only one who doesn't care,' Sakura said with a miserable sigh. 

'I'm sorry,' Yue said at last. Sakura looked over at him with surprise evident on her face. 'For what? None of this is your fault,' she said. Yue glanced at her and gave her a small smile. 

'I saw the Angel last night. She was the one who woke me up. I can see why you love her. She is so beautiful,' Sakura said. Yue looked at her first in shock then with a brilliant smile. 

'She is all that is good and pure in this world. I don't deserve her,' he said with a sad smile. 'Why not?' Sakura asked curiously. 

'I've lied, I've killed, I've helped Akuman. I've hurt my family. Where's the good in me?' he asked. Sakura couldn't ignore the bitter regret in his voice. 

By this time they had reached the gate of the school. Sakura stopped and turned to Yue. 'No, you must have some good in you,' she said earnestly. Yue shook his head. But Sakura continued. She put a hand on his chest and could feel his heart beat beneath her small hand. Her emerald eyes shone with sincerity as she looked up at him. 

'The Angel cannot survive without good. To love you, to spend even a second in your company, you must have some good in your heart, even if you can't find it yet,' she said smiling at last. 

'Maybe I'll find it someday,' he said with a rueful smile. Sakura's smile grew brighter. 'I know you will,' she said optimistically. Yue shook his head at her buoyancy. 

'Sakura,' a masculine voice called from inside the school ground. The two looked up to see a grey-haired boy with glasses looking at them.

Sakura's face lit up with joy. 'Yukito!!' she yelled running over to the boy to hug him. Tsukishiro Yukito grinned and hugged her back as hard as she had hugged him. 'When did you come back?' Sakura asked tilting her head up. 'Just yesterday. I would've come to see you sooner but jetlag defeated me in a matter of minutes,' Yukito said not dropping his arms from around her. 

Yue stared at this stranger with cold eyes. Who was he to touch Sakura so intimately? 'Jealous?' an amused voice said beside him. Yue looked down to see Clow's reincarnation looking at the two with vast amusement in his blue eyes. Yue didn't let any of his emotions show in anyway. 

'Why should I be?' Yue asked coldly. Eriol looked at him and smiled enigmatically. 'Why shouldn't you be?' he challenged. Yue stared at him with merciless purple eyes. 

Sakura noticed Yue and Eriol talking and dragged Yukito over to them. The two boys looked at Yukito with varying expressions. Eriol was amused while Yue was looking anything but. 'Yue this is Tsukishiro Yukito. Yuki this is Akari Yue,' Sakura said brightly. The two boys stared at each other suspiciously. Yukito broke the gaze first. Yue looked down at the girl and managed a small smile. 'I have to go to class,' he said blandly. 

Sakura stared after him with concern written all over her face. 'What did I do wrong?' she asked confused. 'Don't worry about him, he's just confused,' Eriol said with a mysterious smile. 'When you smile like that Eriol I get worried,' Sakura said with suspicious eyes. 

'So what are you doing here?' Sakura asked Yukito with a friendly voice. 'Touya called me to talk about the irresponsible kaijuu,' Yukito said prepared for the explosion. It didn't come. Instead Sakura smiled evilly. 'I think Touya might be getting a frog in his bed soon,' she said sweetly. 

Eriol laughed at the amusing mental picture. Sakura hugged Yukito once more. 'What're you doing now?' she asked. 'I'm on leave for a month,' Yukito said with a smile. 'Great, I'll talk to you later,' Sakura said heading for her class. 'Things have changed Yukito. Sakura has changed,' Eriol reminded the older man before walking to his class. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A silver haired figure stood on the roof of the school. His violet eyes avidly scanned the grounds below him. The folded arms and cold eyes attested to the fact that Akari Yue was seriously angry. The object of his attention was at this moment sitting and talking with the Card Mistress. 

Tsukishiro Yukito. Sakura's old boyfriend, for some reason that phrase rankled Yue. Yukito disappeared for two years without a word then appeared again just as suddenly and Sakura welcomed him with open arms. Yue's eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw how close the two were. 

'You just can't admit it can you?' Damn, it was that reincarnation of Clow. Half-reincarnation, Yue reminded himself. He retained his icy silence, even when Eriol came to stand beside him.

'I don't know what you are talking about?' Yue said coldly. Eriol laughed softly. Yue glanced at him through the corner of his eyes. 'I am sure you don't,' Eriol said nodding slowly. Yue managed to keep his angry growl from escaping from his lips. 'If you are here to insult me then feel free to leave,' Yue said stiffly. 

'Please Yue give me some credit. You may have loved the Angel once but not any more. Don't try to deny it,' Eriol said when Yue opened his mouth, 'I might not be your master but I did create you. So if you don't love the Angel who do you love?' Eriol asked pointedly. Yue kept his silence with remarkable self-control. 

'Stop denying it Yue. In the end it'll only hurt more,' Eriol sighed. Yue said nothing. Finally Eriol gave up and went down stairs. Yue was silent for a few more seconds before he sighed. He unfolded his arms and ran a hand through his hair. 

~I don't love Sakura. How could I?~ he asked himself. No, there was no way he could love Sakura. If he was in love with her what happened to the Angel? He couldn't afford to fall in love. Beside she had Yukito, who loved her and he was human, Yue wasn't. In the end she would die and he would be left alone again. No, he couldn't let himself fall in love; like Eriol said, it would only bring pain. 

'She's pretty isn't she?' the amused voice made Yue look up. Somehow Akuma had managed to sneak up on him. 'Who?' he asked. She looked at him with a wicked grin. 'I don't know, you tell me,' she invited. When Yue said nothing she laughed. 

'Aww, poor Yue. He has to choose between his old love and his new one,' she mocked. Yue frowned in consternation. First Eriol, now Akuma. Who next? The Angel herself? With his luck it probably would be. 'She's so sweet, so innocent,' Akuma baited with a smile. 

'Stay away from her Akuma,' Yue said sharply. The woman looked over with a surprised look on her face. 'Why Yue, you almost sound as if you care,' she said archly. Yue glared at her with undisguised anger. 

'How about I make a little deal with you. I promise to stay away from her if _you_ promise to do the same,' she bargained. Yue looked at her. 'How would I protect her?' he asked reasonably. 'Jeez, she has you wrapped around her little finger,' Akuma said rolling her eyes. Yue didn't know if she was talking about Sakura or The Angel and he didn't care to know. He waited patiently. 

'You can protect her to your heart's content, but only from afar,' Akuma explained. Yue considered. Why was she doing this? Why would she care about Yue and Sakura being friends? Then he shrugged in his mind. Who cares, if keeping away from Sakura meant her being safe from Akuma he'd do it in a snap. The fact that this would make his current dilemma easier to deal with only helped to solidify his decision. 'All right,' Yue said finally. Akuma nodded triumphantly and with a wave went downstairs. 

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Yay, I managed to keep my promise and update within the week. I'm happy. Thanks people for the reviews. If you have any questions email them to me and I'll try to answer them as best I can. See ya later. 


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight 

Yue had tried to avoid Sakura for nearly a week now. He distanced himself from her and watched her from afar. It was the only way he could be sure to keep himself faithful to the Angel and protect her from Akuma. Falling in love with Sakura would jeopardize everything. 

'Yue!!' The familiar voice made him tense. He enveloped himself in the familiar and comforting coldness that made him feel safer. He turned around and had to consciously keep his lips from curving up in a smile at the way she was waving enthusiastically. 'Yes?' he asked coldly making sure his eyes were as cold as his voice. He saw the bright light in her eyes dim with confusion and barely stopped himself from apologizing. Barely stopped himself from giving into her innocent charm. 

'I-I...Iwaswonderingifyou'dliketocometodinnertonight?' Sakura said quickly, rushing through her words. Yue blinked. 'Pardon?' he asked politely even though he made sure to keep the icy expression on his face. Sakura looked down uncertainly. 'I was wondering if you'd like to come to dinner,' Sakura said softly. Yue opened his mouth to say yes but stopped just in time. 'No, I can't. I have...other plans,' he said stiffly. Sakura looked up then looked back down quickly hiding the hurt look in her eyes. 'Oh,' she said, disappointment colouring her voice. 

'If you'll excuse me I have to go now,' Yue said coldly. He stared at Sakura for a moment before he turned around and left. Sakura stared after him with anguish and disappointment on her face. He had been so nice before and now he was back to the way he had been when she first met him at the carnival. Yukito came to stand beside her with a frown on his otherwise unmarred face. 'He's so rude, why do you even bother trying to be friends with him?' he asked disapprovingly. 'I have to,' Sakura said softly. Yukito looked down sharply. He detected something in her voice that he wasn't sure he liked. 

Despite what he had said to Sakura one of the reasons he had come back was to see if he still had a chance with her. But now it seemed that he didn't have a place in her life any more. It seemed that Yue had taken that place. He smiled unenthusiastically and tugged her hair. 'I think you're going to be a little late,' he said kindly pointing at his watch. She looked down at her watch and her eyes widened. 'Oh no,' she yelped horrified. 'I'll see you later Yukito,' she said with a flustered smile. Yukito nodded and waved as she ran to school. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Yue wait up!!' Eriol called running to catch up with the boy. Yue sighed exasperatedly but stopped and waited. Eriol came to a stop slightly out of breath as he reached the star guardian. He took a deep breath and stood up straight. He pushed a stray strand of hair out of his face and glowered at Yue. 'I just spoke to Sakura,' he began. Yue looked away and began to walk. 'She told me what's been happening,' Eriol said not giving up. 'Really?' Yue said inserting a bit of amusement into his otherwise bland voice. 'Yes she has,' Eriol said starting to get angry. 

'And why would this concern me?' Yue asked frostily and waited for the fireworks to start. He didn't have to wait long. 'Why are you doing this to her and to yourself?' Eriol asked angrily. Yue ignored him and looked aside. 'You've hurt her and I know for a fact that you're hurting,' Eriol continued blue eyes flashing with frustration. Yue made sure that Eriol saw the bored look on his face. Eriol's lips thinned. 'Why can't you just admit it? She loves you I know you know that. I also know that you love her no matter what you say. Why do you have to hurt her? To prove that you don't love her? To prove to yourself that your emotions haven't changed in four hundred years? The Angel may have been your first love but it doesn't mean she'll be your last. Don't you even _care_ about Sakura or what she might be feeling?' he asked throwing up his hands. 

_That_ made Yue turn around with a snarl. 'Don't ever accuse me of that. I care for her more than you know,' he snapped viciously. Immediately Eriol's thin lips lifted upwards in a smile. 'Well well well, I never thought I'd hear you admit that,' he said wryly, 'although it would be nice if you told that to her and not me.' Yue didn't have the chance to answer as a red ball of energy came out of nowhere and slammed into Eriol with enough force to knock him against a tree. Just as suddenly silver lights washed over Yue covering him from view. When it disappeared Yue had changed into his more powerful form. 'Come out Akuma,' Yue said looking around the tranquil street. 

'Isn't this just sweet, little Yue protecting his ex-master's reincarnation,' Akuma mocked appearing before Yue with a smirk on her face. Yue's feathered wings flared out in an unconscious effort to protect Eriol. 'Why are you attacking her friends?' Yue asked coldly despite the anger raging in his amethyst eyes. 'She is off limits to me and a girl needs to have _some_ fun,' Akuma replied looking at her nails. She looked up and saw the anger on Yue's face. 'What, don't tell me you actually care about them?' she asked sarcastically rolling her eyes. When the anger didn't fade she couldn't help but stare at him incredulously. 'My god, you _do_ care about them,' she said almost to herself. She let out a laugh that held amusement and cynicism. 'I never thought I'd see the great Yue fall and all because of one little girl,' she said maliciously. 

'What do you mean?' Yue said softly, his voice just on the verge of whispering. 'I mean, my dearest ex-lover, that you love Sakura,' Akuma said taking pleasure in the way Yue paled. 'And you don't even recognize it,' she said shaking her head with pity. When Yue continued to look at her with shock she frowned. 'Please even _I've_ seen the way you look at her,' she said with a sneer. Yue didn't hear her through the roaring in his mind. Did he love Sakura? He tried to sort out his feelings calling on the memory of the Angel for help. At least he _tried_ to call up her image but the picture that came to mind was fuzzy and he realised with a shock that he had started to forget the Angel. He had started to forget her image, her voice and, most of all, his love for her. 

'Yue!! Eriol!!' Sakura's worried voice broke his concentration. He looked up and saw the card mistress and Yukito running toward them. Her wand was out and ready to release an attack card. The confusion in his mind grew worse as he was confronted with the object of his dilemma. _Shit_, for the first time in his life he swore if only in his mind. Sakura grounded to a halt as she saw Yue and Akuma staring at her. Akuma was smirking while Yue looked confused but that look disappeared so fast that she wondered if she had imagined it. Yukito ran over to make sure Eriol was all right while Sakura faced Akuma. 

'Get away from Eriol,' Sakura said pushing her doubts aside. The smile Akuma cast her way made her step back with unease. Akuma smirked at her then turned to Yue. 'Don't forget what I told you Yue,' she said with a poisoned smile. She waved cheerfully and disappeared in a flurry of red lights. Sakura couldn't help but stare. What had just happened here? What was Akuma talking about? Eriol's groan made her turn around to stare at the dark-haired boy. 'Are you all right Eriol?' she asked worriedly checking for wounds. The boy smiled reassuringly. 'I'm fine since I had Yue to protect me,' he said indicating the guardian with a nod of his head. Sakura stood up and walked over to Yue who seemed to be lost in thoughts. 

'Yue...are you all right?' Sakura said hesitantly. When he didn't answer she ventured a tentative hand toward him. Yukito watched this was despair. 'She's not yours anymore,' Eriol murmured to Yukito. The older man nodded sadly and watched as the woman he loved reach for another. Sakura's hand paused a centimeter away from his shoulder. 'Don't touch me,' Yue whispered. Sakura stood in indecision. Finally taking a deep breath she gathered her courage and placed her hand on his shoulder. Immediately he whirled around with anger. His arm swung in a wide circle and backhanded Sakura across the face. 'Don't touch me,' he snarled with flashing eyes. The smaller girl stumbled back her hands going to her red cheeks. Emerald eyes shimmered with tears as Sakura stared at Yue with a look of confusion and hurt apparent on her face. 

A horrified look came over Yue as he seemed to realise what he had done. They stood still, staring at each other in shocked silence, neither knowing what to say or do. Yue's hand came up slowly to touch her cheeks. 'Sakura...' he began with sorrow and regret in his voice. A loud roar interrupted him. A maneless lion with outstretched golden wings leapt between them knocking his hand away scratching it in the process. 'Don't ever come near her again,' Kero snarled viciously, baring his teeth. Already Tomoyo and Syaoron were running toward them. 'Sakura,' Yue said again helplessly. The girl shook her head and looked away to hide the tears trailing down her face. Yue sighed and folded his wings to his body tightly as if to comfort himself. With one last look he disappeared surrounded by white lights. 

_I'm sorry Sakura. I'm sorry for causing you any pain. One day I hope you'll forgive me. _

************************************************************************************************

That was depressing to write. I want Yue and Sakura to have a happy ending but that scene was just depressing. Meh, I'll be happy again, just give me sugar and chocolate. Mmm, endorphine. Don't mind me, I'm just suffering from chocolate withdrawal symptoms. I hate going back to school it just sucks. I've just found some fascinating information. A 'dork' is a whale's penis and a 'dude' is a camel's penis. There's my weird and wacky fact of the day. Till next time.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine **

'You've done it now,' Akuma taunted from up high in the trees. Yue's lips thinned as he heard those words. 'Haven't you got anything better to do,' he said coldly. Akuma laughed and dropped down to stand beside him. 'You know, I don't have to do anything, you're doing all the damage for me,' she remarked with a giggle. 

Yue growled softly and moved away from Akuma. 'Go away,' he snarled. Akuma leaned forward and cupped his cheek in her hand. 'Is little Yue feeling sad?' she cooed. The star guardian's hand came up to grip hers. 'Little Yue is feeling annoyed and pissed since _someone won't take the hint and go away,' he replied coldly. Red stared into purple. _

With a contemptuous snort Yue threw Akuma away from him. The young woman stumbled then regained her balance remarkably quick. 'Keep up the good work and I'll make sure to say hello to Sakura for you,' she said with a laugh. Before Yue could say anything in reply she disappeared. The star guardian swore softly. 

'She's right you know.'

Yue whirled around and saw Yukito standing behind him. He immediately schooled his face into impassivity. 'What do you want?' he asked with frigid politeness. Yukito shrugged. 

'Just wanted to tell you how upset Sakura has been,' he said nicely. Yue's cats eyes narrowed. 'What do you want?' he repeated slowly. Yukito sighed with exasperation. 

'Why don't you go apologise to her?' he suggested. 

'And risk the wrath of her brother, Mizuki, Tsuki _and_ Kero, not to mention Syaoron and her friends, no thank you,' Yue scoffed. Yukito shrugged again. 'It's your problem but my suggestion is to go and say sorry.'

'Why are you helping me? I thought you loved her as well,' Yue asked. 'As well?' Yukito asked lifting an eyebrow. Yue mentally slapped himself as he realised what he had said. 'You tell anyone and I will have to kill you,' Yue threatened. Yukito grinned.

'Don't worry I wouldn't tell Sakura. It'd sound much better if it came from you,' he replied. Yue glared at him. Yukito kept smiling. 

'You haven't answered my question,' Yue said looking away. 

'You mean why I'm helping you? Because it would make Sakura happy,' Yukito replied. Yue's head turned to look at him fully.

'You would give her up because it would make her happy?' he asked incredulously. Yukito considered then nodded decisively. 'Yes, whatever makes her happy makes me happy,' he answered. 

'Why?'

'Why?' Yukito repeated with confusion. 

'Why would you do this? I thought you'd fight for her,' Yue said bluntly. 

'Simple, she doesn't love me.'

'And I suppose she loves me?' Yue asked cynically. A knowing look was all he got. 'Look at what's in front of your eyes, not what you want to see,' Yukito said cryptically. The two men stared at each other silently. Yukito's face broke into a smile. When Yue didn't say or do anything he walked away. He stopped a few steps later. 

'Sakura is alone at home, except for Tsuki, but she's no trouble. You might want to visit her,' he said not looking back at Yue. When no answer was heard he continued to walk. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yukito walked along humming a song under his breath. He hadn't been lying to Yue. He truly wanted Sakura to be happy. And he was happy when Sakura was happy. However in a small corner of his heart he hoped that Sakura rejected Yue. But his mind and the rest of his heart knew she wouldn't. 

He had come back to see if she still loved him. But the situation between her and the new boy made it painfully clear that she didn't need him anymore. In reality she didn't need anyone to lean on anymore. She had grown up into her powers. Her newfound maturity made sure that she used those powers wisely. 

And as much as he hated to admit it, she didn't need him to lean on anymore. It hurt but Yukito knew that it was partly his fault as well. After all if he hadn't left maybe things would have been different. With a sigh he turned a corner...only to stop as he came face to face with Akuma. 

'That was very good advice you gave Yue,' she told him. Yukito watched her with wary eyes. 'It's a pity isn't it that they're in love?' she chatted with a sly smile. Yukito stepped back automatically. Akuma watched the young man with avid eyes. 

'I wonder if the Card Mistress will be upset if I hurt her ex,' Akuma wondered tossing a red ball of energy from one hand to the other. Red eyes stared the moving ball with fascination. Yukito stepped back again then stopped as he realised that there was no way he could escape from her unscathed. So he stood his ground instead.

'Why do you want Sakura?' he asked bravely. Akuma looked at him as if she was surprised to see him still standing there. 

'Why do I want Sakura?' she repeated, 'that's a hard question. I can't tell you, after all you might go tell her...actually scratch that. I know you'll tell her. And it's not much fun when the prey knows how important she is,' Akuma said with a wide grin. 

'......'

'As for you...a gift,' she continued throwing the ball of energy at him. Yukito flew backwards as the ball slammed into his body. A grunt escaped his lips as he fell on the ground. Pain radiated from his chest making him gasp as he tried to breath.

A flurry of wings made him look up. A tall white figure stood in front of him. It was Yue in his true form. Wings outstretched Yue was protecting him. 

'You've grown to be too goody-goody,' Akuma complained with a pout. Yue smirked coldly. 

'Thank you for that compliment,' he mocked. Akuma rolled her eyes and shook her head. She glared once at Yukito before turning back to Yue. 'Well love to stay and chat but my job is done here, so see ya,' she said blowing a kiss toward the two. Yue waited till she was completely gone before turning to Yukito. 

'Are you all right?' he asked. Yukito nodded standing up slowly. 

'Thank you for your help,' Yukito said softly. Yue stared at him then a small smile bloomed on his face. 'You are welcome. I know the Card Mistress would be upset if her ex got hurt,' he answered already fading from view. Yukito blinked. For a while he stood staring at the spot where Yue once stood. Then smiled. 

It seems that Yue wasn't as cold hearted as he pretends to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yue stared at the door with apprehension. A feeling of deja vu swept over him. He was reminded of the first time he had come over to the house for the party. Taking a deep breath he brought up his hand and knocked on the door. Silence. He knocked again. And again.

His persistence paid off as the door opened a crack. Dark emerald eyes looked outside with anxiety and annoyance. They widened as they saw Yue. The door opened wider revealing Sakura. 

'What are you doing here?' she asked surprised. Yue fidgeted uncomfortably.

'I just...' he trailed off. The teenage girl stared.

'I wanted to...' he began again. Sakura waited. Yue took a deep breath. This was harder than he thought it would be.

'Can I come in?' Yue asked finally. Sakura nodded silently and stepped aside. Yue smiled at her briefly and walked in. He stopped immediately as he came face to face with an extremely angry moon guardian. 

'Why are you here?' she asked. The coldness of her voice would have done Kero proud. Before Yue could respond Sakura came to the rescue. 'It's all right Tsuki, I can look after myself.' Tsuki looked like she wanted to argue but Sakura's look made her rethink her response. With one last glare Tsuki left them alone. 

Yue sighed with relief and sat down in a chair. Sakura sat opposite him. Both were silent, neither knowing what to do or say. 

'Yue...'

'Sakura...'

Both lapsed into silence again. Yue cursed himself in his mind. Was he crazy? He knew he shouldn't have listened to Yukito. It was as uncomfortable as he had imagined it to be. 

'I'm sorry Yue.' Sakura's softly spoken words made the star guardian look up. 'What?' he asked confusion swamping his mind. 

'I'm sorry for intruding,' she clarified. 

'What do you mean?' Yue asked. 

'I know that you didn't like me. But I just wanted to be your friend,' she said helplessly. Yue could only stare at her. Sakura mistook his silence for anger. 

'I-I'm sorry, I think I'll go prepare dinner now,' she said not looking at him. She stood up ready to leave but a hand at her wrist stopped her. She looked down and looked up to meet pleading lilac eyes. 

'It's not your fault Sakura. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you,' Yue said shifting uncomfortably. He was unused to saying sorry for anything he had done. It was against his nature to apologise. When no words came he sneaked a peek up at the girl. And stared at Sakura with surprise. 

'It's all right Yue,' Sakura said with a forgiving smile. Yue stared unable to comprehend that she had forgiven him. Sakura leaned down to hug him. 'I should have noticed that you didn't want to be touched,' she whispered into his ears. 

Yue froze when her arms went around him. A part of his mind was screaming to be let go but it didn't stand a chance against the part that was saying relax and enjoy. Obeying his impulses he relaxed and hugged the girl back a moment after. 'Thank you for forgiving you,' he whispered back. Sakura squeezed him hard and let him go. 

'Will you stay for dinner?' she asked tilting her head childishly. 

'I don't think so. I'm not sure I want to end the night with a knife through my chest,' Yue said thinking of the glares Syaoron, Tomoyo and Meiling had given him. If they were angry he wasn't sure he wanted to find out how upset Touya and Kero were. 

'Oh...all right. I'll see you tomorrow then?' Sakura said with a smile. 

'Of course,' Yue promised heading for the door. Before he reached it, it opened. 

Everything froze. Yue and Sakura stared at Kero, Touya and Kaho who had just come in. The first thing that came to Yue's mind was, I'm in trouble. Those words proved to be prophetic. 

'LET ME KILL HIM!!!' Kero yelled changing into his larger and more powerful form. With a yelp Sakura called up her wand and used the Shield. Kero's fire came to a stop when they encountered the shield. Unfortunately the shield did nothing to stop Touya who stepped forward and pulled his clenched fist back. 

Yue stumbled backward and fell on the ground as Touya's fist connected with his jaw. Kaho stepped forward and managed to stop her lover by force of will. Tuski heard the roar and came in to see what was going on.

Sakura knelt down beside Yue and helped him sit up. 'Are you all right?' she asked the star guardian worriedly. His hand went up to caress the bruised jaw. 'I think I'll be fine,' Yue said wincing as his words hurt his jaw. Satisfied that he was fine Sakura turned to her brother. 

'Touya!' Sakura reprimanded. Her brother however glared undaunted by her glare. 'He deserved it,' he justified. While Yue agreed with him it still hurt. 

'I say we roast him,' Kero growled. 

'For once I agree with the stuff toy,' Touya said with a menacing glare. Tuski nodded wordlessly glaring at her older brother. Sakura rolled her eyes. 'I'm sorry,' she apologized to Yue. 

'What're you saying sorry to him for?' Kero protested. 

'Because _someone hurt him,' Sakura said with a pointed look at Touya. _

'So?' her brother challenged.

'So it's rude for my family to hurt one of my friends,' Sakura snapped back. 

'Friend? After he hit you?' Kero said incredulously. 

'I'd say it's my problem if I forgive him or not since I was the one who was hit,' Sakura pointed out. 

'But-but,' Tsuki stumbled. Before another word could be said Sakura escorted Yue to the door. 'See you tomorrow,' she said with a smile. Yue smiled back and left without looking back thanking his lucky stars that he escaped without losing a limb. Sakura sighed and closed the door. She turned around and jumped as she saw her brother, Tsuki and Kero glaring at her. Kaho stood in the background barely able to hold in her laugh. 

'I suppose you want an explanation?' she said nervously. 

'And you supposed right,' Touya said with a pleasant smile. Sakura laughed nervously and prepared to be put to the third degree. 

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Well finally the chapter is finished. Sorry for not updating sooner. I have too many stories up. I've got two going on fictionpress.net and I'll also be putting another story up on fanfiction.net. If you add it all together it's four stories going at the one time. So I have decided on a timetable/deadline. On the third weekend of the month 'Angelic Moon' will be updated. And on the fourth weekend of the month 'Moolit Reflections' will be updated. 

'Moolit Reflections' is another CCS story. But it'll be focusing more on Yue and the relationship between Yue, Yukito and Touya. If I get good reviews for it I'll probably put another Touya/Yue/Yukito story up. There's also an X/1999 story in the making. I'm getting bogged down in stories here. The story probably won't come out until Angelic Moon is finished so I have some relaxation time. Unless, of course, I finish one of the stories on fictionpress.net first. Either way it'll be a long time in coming.  

But enough of my babble. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed this story and my other one-chapter stories. Believe me it's hard writing with no encouragements. And of course there're always the slave drivers holding the whip over my head. I'd like to say thanks to them too. And I'd welcome any constructive criticisms on how to improve my writing. In other words reviews like 'I hate your story, it sucks and your sense of timeline sucks' will not be welcome. In fact it'll probably ensure that I answer you with abusive comments. So try to make it worth something. But do please read and review. 

Another thing is I'll be changing my pen name. I have an account at mediaminer.org and it gets to be a pain when I have to change the author's name when I put the story up on mediminer.org. Therefore I'll be changing my pen name to 'SYF'. There is a reason behind those acronyms but I'll probably leave you in the dark about it unless you ask nicely. If you have a problem with me changing my pen name send me an e-mail. If I have way too many protests I'll leave the name as it is. 

So yeah, that's about it. I'll be seeing you soon.  


	10. Chapter Ten

"Yue!!" Sakura yelled to get the boy's attention. Beside her Syaoron rolled his eyes at the girl's enthusiasm. Tomoyo nudged her boyfriend in the rib and gave him a warning glare. Not seeing the exchange the cheerful girl left her friends behind and ran to catch up to the silver haired boy who waited patiently for her.

"Hello Sakura," Yue greeted when she reached him. The girl in question smiled and waved brightly. The older boy smiled politely at Tomoyo and Syaoron. The former smiled back just as politely and the latter scowled.

"Ohayo Yue. How's it going?" Sakura returned the greeting cheerfully ignoring the way her friends were acting. 

"Tired," Yue said with a wry grin. He held up his chemistry textbook. "I had to stay up to study for the exam," he continued with a woebegone sigh. Sakura nodded in sympathy. Her exams were coming up also and she wasn't looking forward to them either. 

Meanwhile Tomoyo and Syaoron had walked ahead, leaving her to walk alone with Yue. They could see the couple but the two did not intrude, which was a very tactful way of saying they trusted Yue to a certain degree. Then again the glare Syaoron had directed at Yue over his shoulder also said that he wouldn't hesitate to tear the Star Guardian to shreds if he hurt Sakura again. 

The two walked in comfortable silence. Neither of them needed speech to fill up the quiet. Both were of a peaceful nature. Yue was by nature quite and watchful. And no matter how loud Sakura was there was a side to her that craved tranquility. Yue would have described the moment as peaceful. Akuma wasn't around to annoy them, Eriol wasn't around to tease them, and neither Touya nor Kero were around to either verbally or physically attack Yue. Thinking about the two protectors of Sakura's virtues reminded Yue of what happened last night.

"What happened with your family after I left?" Yue asked tentatively. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Sakura let out a half-laugh, half-sigh. She grimaced comically as she looked up at Yue with mischievous eyes. 

"I was put to the third degree. I swear Touya and Kero were CIA interrogators in their past lives. I never knew they could be so...so..._scary," Sakura finished with a dramatic shudder. Yue smiled at the girl's over dramatization. _

"What was their verdict regarding me?" he questioned. Yue might not show it but he was very curious as to what Touya decided. And it would also be convenient if the Card Mistress' brother and Guardians would actually stop abusing him every time they saw him.

"They decided that, and I quote, 'even if Yue is the slimy, perverted, and dishonest progeny of the Devil, Satan, Hades and Lucifer rolled into one, they would trust me to be able to look after myself', end quote," Sakura said with laughter in her eyes. Yue's eyebrows went way up at that. 

"Aren't the Devil, Satan and Lucifer one person?" he asked laughing.

"Yes but I didn't think arguing with them was a good idea at the time," she replied with a shrug.

"Probably not," Yue agreed. He and Sakura looked at each other then burst out laughing. 

"Aww this is so sweet, you'll have to excuse me while I throw up." Yue tensed and turned around with a stiff smile. To Sakura his smiles were genuine, but this one was full of hidden threats. Akuma stood behind them in all of her evil glory. She wore her school uniform and was smiling but the way she was standing told them all they needed to know. Akuma was not a happy girl. The way she had reverted to her other form, without the skimpy costume, wasn't a good sign either.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," Sakura greeted very courteously. Her hands slowly shifted upwards to grasp her key. Akuma's red eyes narrowed as they focused on the girl. She seemed to be searching for something then a smirk appeared on her face. 

"Don't you remember our little deal?" Even though she was looking at Sakura it was obvious the question was addressed to Yue. 

"What deal? What's she talking about Yue?" Sakura asked not daring to turn to the Star Guardian who shook his head distractedly. He was glaring at the woman with undisguised hatred. 

"Never mind," he said through gritted teeth. He didn't want to answer but he knew that if Sakura persisted he would have no other choice available to him.

"Come on Yue why don't you tell your Mistress why you've been avoiding her for the last couple of days?" Akuma taunted. Yue's lips thinned and his eyes narrowed. At his sides his hands were clenched into tight fists.

"Yue?" Sakura said the name softly but Yue knew what she was asking. He didn't answer, and he wasn't going to until it was absolutely necessary. Akuma rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. 

"Such trust in this relationship," the sarcasm was thick enough to cut with a blunt knife. When Yue only continued to glare she snickered delightedly. She turned to Sakura who was looking from one to the other with confusion on her face. 

"You're boyfriend here – " Akuma glanced at Yue before turning back with a smirk. 

"Don't you dare Akuma," Yue barked. His form was glowing white, although he didn't dare to change in public. Akuma smiled at him pleasantly and continued.

" – And I made a little deal that I would leave you alone if he did so as well. And of course he couldn't keep away from you for more than a week," she finished disgustedly with a grimace. Sakura's eyes narrowed as well. 

"Was she telling the truth?" she asked tersely. Yue squirmed slightly evidently not wanting to answer the question. Sakura waited patiently. Finally he sighed and looked at Sakura with bland eyes. He nodded once in answer to her question. For some reason Sakura looked extremely angry. Akuma smiled slyly.

"Chaos, panic, and disorder...my job here is done," she sighed happily. Sakura turned to her with anger in her eyes. Akuma smiled at her and blew a kiss at the two before disappearing.

Yue snarled under his breath. Sakura turned to him with quite a lot of anger in her eyes. 

"So you avoided me for over a week because she said she would hurt me if you didn't, is that right?" she asked quietly. If one could only hear her voice they would have thought she was quite calm and collected. However if one saw her eyes, they told a different story all together. She was as mad as hell and ready to burst into flames. 

"Yes, it was my duty," Yue answered her coldly, indifferently some might have said. He had had centuries of practice at covering his emotions up and he used those skills to his advantage. He was not sorry that he had been able to protect his charge and if she was angry so be it. Better angry than dead. 

"In other words you think I'm some sort of Princess in a castle who needs to be protected at all times. You think I don't have the skills to protect myself," she hissed. Her emerald eyes were glowing with her fury. If Yue had been anyone else he would have been scared. But Yue was Yue and he was going to stand his ground. 

"I know you can protect yourself against any magician or sorceress that challenges you but Akuma is a different matter altogether," Yue insisted. 

"Why does everyone think I'm still a child!!!" Sakura nearly yelled with frustration. 

"When you act like that you _are a child," Yue snapped his eyes glowing with fury. "I know you can look after yourself, all of us knows that. We know you have the ability," he continued moderating his voice._

"..."

"But Akuma doesn't attack physically. She uses trickery to get what she wants," Yue said desperately. At this Sakura's eyes narrowed into thin slits. 

"Does this mean you think I'd be stupid enough to fall for her tricks? You think I can't figure out for myself if she's lying to me or not?" she hissed. 

"NO!"

"Then what are you trying to say!!!" 

"I'm trying to say that Akuma has had centuries of practice at lying, she knows exactly what to say to make you believe her. I just don't think you're old enough to see through her lies!!" he shouted. 

"Fine then, if you think I'm not old enough or smart enough, I should probably just leave," Sakura said tersely. Her eyes were stinging with angry tears but she wouldn't let a drop pass. 

/I won't cry, I won't cry, iwontcryiwontcryiwontcry!!/

Her fists clenched tightly in an effort to hold back her tears. She couldn't let Yue see her cry. Tears were a sign of weakness and he already that she was weak, she wouldn't make the situation any wore by crying. 

"Sakura I didn't mean it like that," Yue said sounding desperate. 

"Really, what did you mean then?" Sakura asked sarcastically. Yue blinked at the tone of her voice.

"I – I meant – I mean..." Yue stammered not knowing what to say because in a way she was right. They didn't think she could look after herself, because she was too trusting. No matter what the person had done before she would forgive them. So far she had been lucky, all the people she had trusted had proven themselves worthy of her trust, but her luck was sure to run out. And Yue was sure that Akuma would be that failed charity case. He didn't want to see her hurt. 

And for the first time he admitted that it wasn't because of The Angel. For the first time since he met her he protected her because he genuinely wanted to. Unfortunately he didn't have the time to muse on that thought any longer. Sakura was not a happy Card Mistress. 

"I guess I was right after all," she said bitterly turning away. Yue would have called her back if he could have found the words to make her feel better. But he didn't so all he could do was watch as she walked away from him.

Just when he thought that they had gotten over one hurdle ten more appeared in its place. It was more than annoying, it was extremely frustrating. 

There was only one thing that Yue could think of to help with the situation. Talk to his brothers and sisters. He wasn't looking forward to it but it was necessary. He had never been a chicken before and he wasn't going to be one now. 

Hallelujah!!! And Praise the Lord!! You have no idea how long I've been angsting over what to write. I had a writer's block for so bloody long!! I was ready to tear my hair out. 

And it wasn't just writer's block. Our computer conveniently decided to contract a virus. And it wasn't even doing any major damage, it was just being really, really annoying. 

But thank you for all of your support. A very nice person emailed me and asked if they could archive this story. I was very happy to say yes. So now you can find my fic at [find website] too. That was the first time anyone has ever asked to archive my story so I can genuinely say that I'm on top of the world. Ta ta till next chappie.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Title: Angelic Moon Author: Syf Summary: Yue's a rogue guardian, Akuma's a strange sorceress, Tenshi is a lost card that appears in dreams. When these three beings enter Sakura's life, things get very complicated. Genre: Romance/Adventure Disclaimer: CCS belongs to Clamp. Akuma, Tenshi, and Tsuki belong to me, 'nuff said.  
  
~Chapter Eleven~  
  
"Something's wrong," Touya muttered staring blankly out of the school gate. A small frowned marred his face.  
  
"I know what you mean," Kaho agreed coming up to stand beside her lover. She too was frowning. She was worried and she didn't care who knew it. Something was wrong, very wrong. As a priestess Kaho could sometimes foretell the future. And at this moment the future was looking very bad.  
  
"What's going on?" Tomoyo asked looking between the two of them. it was a few minutes before school and Touya had come to visit his lover and a few of Sakura's classmates.  
  
"I can't see the ghosts anymore," Touya explained looking at them distractedly. Tomoyo and Meiling looked blankly at each other.  
  
"I can always see ghosts. Even after I gave my powers to Tsuki I could somehow sense them. But now they aren't here anymore."  
  
"But that's a good thing right?" Tomoyo asked tentatively. She knew next to nothing about magic and while she was happy that way, at times it was a big inconvenience, like now for instance.  
  
Touya shook his head fervently. "Ghosts can sense change in magic quicker than humans can, even magicians. Something to do with being dead. When they disappear that means something very bad, very magical, and very big is going to happen very soon." Here Kaho took over to explain to the girls.  
  
"As a moon priestess I can sense the future. And all of my training is telling me that I do not want to be here for whatever's coming."  
  
"Does this have something to do with Akuma?" Meiling asked.  
  
"Tenshi, Akuma, Yue, and Sakura, it's got something to do with all four of them," Kaho corrected.  
  
"It's going to be tough for the next few weeks," Eriol remarked handing the lunch he bought to Meiling. "Magically, physically, and emotionally," he continued looking unconcerned even though his mouth was sprouting very bad omens.  
  
"Are you always so optimistic?" Syaoron asked sitting beside Tomoyo who greeted him with a smile.  
  
"You know as well as I do that worrying about things won't it go away," Eriol chided. Syaoron nodded reluctantly. He knew. The group fell into a contemplative silence, each thinking their own thoughts.  
  
"Hey! There's Sakura. SAKURA!!" Tomoyo suddenly shouted waving her hands. The brunette looked up with a startled look. Then that look turned into a smile when she realised who it was. She raced over to them with a wave of her own.  
  
"Where's Yue?" Syaoron asked with a disapproving frown. He'd thought that the Star guardian would be shadowing Sakura's every step. Sakura's face fell and she looked away.  
  
"What happened?" Touya demanded ready to defend his little sister against whatever the Star guardian had done. Sakura however just shook her head unwilling to talk about it. Touya was ready to shake some sense into her but Kaho stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. She and Eriol shared a look before turning to the Card Mistress.  
  
"Are you all right Sakura?" Eriol asked worriedly. The emerald eyed girl smiled brightly fooling everyone but Tomoyo, who had known her far too long.  
  
"I'm just fine. Come on we need to get to class or we'll be late," she prompted with a laugh. Kaho looked down at her watch and noticed with some surprise that it was indeed nearly time for class. Touya stood up and kissed Kaho goodbye. With a wave for his sister and her friends he walked out of the school. The group began to walk towards the school building talking about nothing and everything.  
  
Tomoyo suddenly noticed that Sakura was lagging behind. Normally she'd be up at the front talking with her friends but today she just seemed paler and quieter. Making sure no one noticed she dropped back to talk to her friend.  
  
"What's wrong Sakura?" she asked quietly. The brunette looked up with a distracted smile.  
  
"Nothing Tomoyo, I'm fine," she protested not fooling her best friend. Tomoyo continued to stare at her. Unnoticed they had stopped in the middle of the hallway. A few looked at them curiously but turned back to their own businesses when they realized it was only Tomoyo and Sakura speaking.  
  
Sakura sighed. "Yue and I just had argument," she answered suddenly finding the floor very interesting.  
  
"About?" Tomoyo asked patiently. Sakura could brush off anyone but Tomoyo and Touya. The former was her best friend and the latter was her brother.  
  
"Nothing important, just a discussion about why he's so protective of me," Sakura muttered still not looking up.  
  
"Isn't that a good thing?" Tomoyo asked with a slightly frown. Sakura looked up at her incredulously.  
  
"I'm old enough to look after myself!!" Sakura said rather loudly. Loud enough that other students looked over. Seeing the two best friends arguing most turned back to their previous occupation not wishing to get involved. A few however watched with avid glee as the drama unfolded.  
  
"I know you are but you should still be careful!" Tomoyo protested worried about her friend.  
  
"I am being careful. I'm not the naïve little girl I used to be," Sakura insisted. By now Tomoyo was getting angry as well. She was just worried about her friend.  
  
"We all know that but we can't help worrying any way!!" Tomoyo snapped finally losing her temper.  
  
"Is there a problem girls?" Kaho asked coming onto the scene. Both girls turned to look at her. The older woman was faintly surprised when she saw the fury in both Sakura and Tomoyo's face.  
  
"Well?" she prompted coolly. The two girls looked anywhere but at each other and at Kaho.  
  
"Just a small misunderstanding," Tomoyo finally said when it was apparent that Sakura wasn't going to say anything.  
  
"I see. Perhaps this small misunderstanding could wait until lunch time?" Kaho suggested. Both girls had the grace to look embarrassed and nodded. With murmured apologies Tomoyo and Sakura raced off to their classroom. Kaho followed at a more sedate pace, somewhat worried about the girls.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yue stared at the door not looking forward to what he was about to do. He was a brave Star Warrior. He could take on the spirits of the cards, an evil magician, an angry ghost, but this just about took the cake. He wanted to run away and hide, nevertheless this had to be done. He had to be brave and courageous. However there was a small part of him that really didn't want to do this.  
  
As he stood there his sense of duty battled with his common sense. Sense of duty won out. Not waiting for his common sense to rally Yue lifted his hand and knocked on the door. He stepped back hiding his anxiety behind an icy façade.  
  
He tired not to flinch when the door creaked open. A golden head poked out. It was Kero in his human form, smiling in welcome. The smile on his face disappeared and a frown appeared as Kero saw the person waiting for him. Without a word Kero closed the door in Yue's face.  
  
The Star guardian sighed and knocked again. This time it was Tsuki who opened the door. Like Kero she too was frowning.  
  
"Sakura's at school where you're supposed to be, so go away," She said moving to close the door. Fortunately Yue was quick enough to stop her by shoving back the door. Surprised Tsuki watched as Yue pushed his way inside the house.  
  
"Why'd you let him in?!?" Kero protested when he saw Yue.  
  
"I didn't exactly let him in, he pushed past me!! What was I supposed to do attack him? In broad daylight?" Tsuki defended herself.  
  
"Women!!" Kero muttered sulkily. Tsuki took offense and the two began a verbal fight that was quickly going downhill.  
  
"We don't have time for this!" Yue yelled stopping the two in the midst of their fight. Both stopped and looked at Yue in surprise. They'd almost forgotten that he was there. Now that they remembered their anger came back full force.  
  
"What're you here for anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at school along with Keori and Sakura?" Kero demanded folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"I'm here because I need to talk to you two," Yue said ignoring Kero's second question.  
  
"Too bad, we don't want to talk to you," Kero replied shortly. Yue took a deep breath to calm himself. It wouldn't do any good if he decided to throw Kero out the window. Not only would it attract unwanted attention, he also doubted Sakura would be happy with him.  
  
"I know you don't like me, and you have a lot of good reasons for that. But this isn't about you or me, it's about Sakura," Yue said frustrated beyond belief. He'd never thought he'd be this aggravated when he was contemplating talking to his siblings.  
  
"Oh, well, that's a different matter completely then," Kero said reluctantly conceding to listen to Yue. He walked into the living room and sprawled onto one of the seats. With his arms folded and a frown on his face he looked like a sulky child. Yue contained his laughter and sat opposite Kero. Tsuki sat between them, once again being the mediator.  
  
"So? Talk!" Kero demanded impatiently. Yue suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He'd never realize how childish his little brother was.  
  
"Have you noticed that Sakura's been a lot more.unbalanced lately?" Yue asked tentatively.  
  
"She's not crazy!!" Tsuki spoke up.  
  
"I didn't say she was. I'm talking about her magical abilities, not her emotional or mental state," Yue argued. Kero frowned thoughtfully. Now that he thought about it, Yue was right. His mistress' magic had been a little unreliable lately. This morning he had woken up more tired than usual. And Tsuki had complained of a headache.  
  
Kero knew they weren't sick, magical creatures don't get sick. It didn't have anything to do with the lack of energy source either. The sun was shining brightly and it had been a full moon last night. No one was attacking them magically. The only people capable of attacking them were Akuma and Eriol. The sorceress had been laying low for a while so it couldn't have been her. And Eriol was their friend, now that the tests were all over there was no need for him to attack them any more. The only explanation left was Sakura. As far as Kero knew she was physically, mentally, and emotionally fine. Therefore it could be inferred that something was wrong with her magic.  
  
In spite of the fact that they gained their power from the sun and the moon, Kero and Tsuki were still connected to Sakura. Part of their power came from Sakura since the sun and the moon were available only half of the time. So anything that affected Sakura's magical ability affected them to some degree.  
  
"Yue's right," Kero finally said grudgingly. Tsuki looked up very surprised to hear those words coming from Kero's mouth.  
  
"Thank you," Yue said uncertainty colouring his words. He didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or not, considering the tone it was said in.  
  
"Don't expect me to ever say it again," Kero warned even though his tone wasn't as hostile as it used to be.  
  
"So do we have an explanation for why Sakura's so unbalanced, as Yue put it?" Tsuki asked the two guardians. Yue and Kero shared a look.  
  
"We have no idea," they replied in unison. Tsuki sighed.  
  
"Great, so what do we do?" she said looking from one to the other.  
  
"We keep watching, and making sure that the situation doesn't get worse. Make sure that Akuma stays far away from Sakura," Kero answered with an offhand shrug. He turned to Yue.  
  
"Oh, and one more thing, if you ever betray us again like you did the night Akuma attacked us, not even Sakura's going to stop me from killing you," he warned. Yue nodded understanding that this was the guardian speaking.  
  
"So we'll just have to make sure that we're here if and when Sakura needs us," Tsuki concluded. Kero and Yue nodded to show that they agreed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Yue reflected on his siblings as he walked home since there really wasn't any point to going to school, seeing as he had missed half the day already.  
  
When he had first met his siblings he had been very uncomfortable to say the least. He was, after all, surrounded by people who had plenty of reasons to hate him. To his surprise however, he found that as he continued to interact with them he was beginning to feel more and more comfortable with his 'family'. Kero was still unfriendly, as was Tsuki, not to mention Eriol, Nakuru, and Spinel Sun. But despite all these he liked bring around them.  
  
Sakura was the only thing in common that they had but it was more than enough. Perhaps given more time he would be welcomed back into the 'family' with open arms. He could hope.  
  
**********************  
  
It's done. Yahoo!! I know I promised you another story, 'Moonlit Reflection', but currently my attention is spread between this, my original stories, other fanfictions yet to be seen on the net, as well as 'Moonlit Reflection'. So instead of the huge chapter I wanted to put up I'm only going to put up the prologue, and the first chapter of 'Moonlit Reflection'.  
  
And I totally forgot about the exam that Yue was talking about in the previous chapter, and I can't be bothered to change the ending so let's just all pretend that the exam is tomorrow.  
  
As always, please R&R. I do appreciate any constructive criticism put forward by anyone. Thanks!! 


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve  
  
Yue was not having a good day. In fact he was having, what was possibly, the worst day in all of his long life. Sakura was ignoring him, Syaoron and Tomoyo kept glaring at him each time he tried to talk to Sakura, not the mention the blasted chemistry exam he had that morning. That exam was difficult, more than difficult. If it weren't for the fact that he needed to fit in with the other teenagers, he would have long abandoned school. He knew all he had to know, he wasn't sure why he had to keep being tortured by useless teachers nagging him to do well. And of course let's not forget the way that blasted reincarnation of Clow's and the moon priestess kept smiling every time they saw him, Yue thought to himself with a roll of his eyes, that was more than enough to annoy a saint.  
  
He suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the soccer field he was walking through. He thought he had seen something from the corner of his eyes. A flash of red and black material and a brush of dark magic against his shield. Red and black with a hint of magic meant one thing. Just to be sure Yue cautiously extended his magical sense for signs of a magical being. His power, in its search, brushed slightly against a magical barrier constructed especially to keep star magic out. Cursing viciously in his mind, Yue sighed, frustrated beyond belief. He was very familiar with this kind of magic.  
  
Apparently his bad day wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot. "Akuma, either talk to me face to face or go away, don't stalk me," he said to the sky clenching his hands into two fists. At first it seemed like he was talking to himself but a second later a red and black figure dropped out of the tree on the edge of the field. The figure landed gracefully with its back to Yue. Gaining its balance the person twirled around on her heels. It was indeed Akuma. A smiling, grinning Akuma, which wasn't a good thing according to Yue's thinking. Warily Yue changed into his other self while waiting for Akuma to reach him.  
  
"You're getting better Yue," Akuma complimented brightly. "Before you wouldn't have been able to sense me so easily." Yue's smile was just as scary as hers if not more so.  
  
Yue's voice, when he spoke, was saccharine sweet. "Well you know how it is. After being attacked by everyone, including people you try to protect, anyone would get very jumpy." Akuma sniggered. She could practically hear Yue's teeth grinding against each other.  
  
"Soooo." Akuma stalked towards Yue, resembling a cat leisurely playing with and chasing a mouse. But somehow one got the feeling that Yue wasn't a prey exactly, more like a scorpion waiting for the right moment to strike. The air was charged with tension as Akuma came to a stop, a mere two feet away from Yue. When Akuma smiled he could see a mere suggestion of fangs peeping out from between her crimson lips.  
  
"How are things between you and the Card Mistress? Everything running smoothly?" Yue gritted his teeth. He stared hard into crimson eyes and saw the hatred and anger that was not present in her sweet voice. He also saw danger, to him, to Sakura, to the Angel. And he could do nothing but clench his fists.  
  
Yue gathered his anger about him like a cloak. He nurtured that anger knowing that the emotion would give him an edge if handled properly. And Yue was expert at handling anger. "I know what you're doing to her. And I am advising you to stop it," the star guardian said, his voice as icy as the arctic winds. He wasn't accusing, he was merely stating a fact.  
  
One ebony eyebrow rose elegantly. The owner of the eyebrow looked hurt as well as amused. "I'm hurt koibito, to think that you would accuse me of doing anything to her, to sweet little Sakura." The words may seem innocent but Yue looked past the voice to the soul and found it so foul he couldn't help but grimace slightly in disgust. He took a deep breath and managed a pleasant smile. But like Akuma's innocent look, it was all fake.  
  
"I am no longer your lover, you should take care when you call me that. And you are avoiding the topic." Yue's voice had dropped the icy tone to become pleasant. But perhaps that smooth politeness was why it seemed to sound so threatening. Akuma's smile suddenly became flat, it suddenly looked as fake as it was.  
  
Her whole demeanor changed. From amicable she became wrathful. From innocent she became dangerous. Her eyes glowed with barely hidden loathing and anger, for whom and why, Yue could not have guessed. She drew herself up to her full height and weaved a cocoon of power around herself. Yue was hard pressed not to step back in shock. He had never seen Akuma at her strongest before and it was surprising now.  
  
What came out of her mouth resembled the hissing of snakes, the poisonous kind. "Don't you dare presume to think that you can stop me from claiming her and those Cards. You can do nothing and you know it." Yue's lips thinned.  
  
"I may not be able to stop you, I am wise enough to know that. But I will do whatever I can to reduce the harm done to Sakura." Yue's voice was implacable. And his pale face bore a resemblance to carved marble. A hiss made its way out of Akuma's pretty lips. That hiss was in sharp contrast with her icily beautiful features. Yue stood his ground in the face of her anger, not moving an inch.  
  
The two creatures were powerful enough to reduce a city to rubbles, yet neither one made a move. The air crackled with tension and power as well as anger. Lucky for them no one was around to witness their encounter. At this rate not even the presence of a normal human was going to be enough to stop them from finishing this duel. Akuma was the one to break the stalemate. Her eyes began to glow bright crimson. Overhead clouds began to gather, covering the light of the sun. Their clothes fluttered around them, faster and faster as the wind grew fiercer.  
  
In a matter of seconds an electric storm had begun. Thunder and lightning slashed through the sky lighting up the scene eerily. Just as suddenly as the storm had begun lightning arced down from the sky and headed for Yue. The star guardian was quick to put up a shield and the lightning dispersed into the air as soon as it hit the bluish white shield. Akuma didn't give Yue time to garner his energy for a counterattack. Another lash of energy flayed the shield, then another, and another. Over and over Yue's shield was attacked from all and every direction.  
  
The star warrior managed to deflect one of the lightnings at the smirking sorceress but it was too weak to do real damage to Akuma's own shield. The woman continued to watch as the star guardian and his shield grew weaker and weaker, straining under the stress of the attacks. A smile appeared on the thin lips of Akuma as she Saw the shield began to crack in places. She hadn't wanted to kill Yue yet, but the guardian had left her no other choice. At least with Yue out of the way the Cardmistress would be too weak with guilt and sorrow to put up much of a resistance. And as far as Akuma was concerned, that was good news.  
  
Bright light lit up the area as the last lightning shattered Yue's shield. Akuma's smile widened into a grin as she glided silently towards Yue. The star guardian looked exhausted and beaten and that was exactly what Akuma wanted. She knelt down beside her ex-lover. "You're too weak to ever be a threat to me Yue. You're absolutely nothing without the Angel. She gives you strength but when she is gone you are absolutely worthless." Akuma said softly, touching Yue gently on the face. Icy amethyst eyes glared at her even as the body housing that anger was broken. Akmu shrugged whimsically.  
  
"Oh well, it's too late now." Her face was utterly devoid of any emotion, resembling that of a statue. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to deliver my condolences to your Mistress." Akuma straightened and backed away slowly. Once again her eyes glowed, but this time the glow bled to the rest of her body. Soon enough her whole body was shining bright scarlet. Yue closed his eyes in exhaustion as much as resignation. He had done his best, but it wasn't enough. Three hundred years he had lived, three hundred years of fighting off the strongest sorcerers and sorceress. And now he was going to be killed in some strange town, killed trying to protect someone who didn't even care about him. The gods must really hate him. That thought flittered through his mind barely lingering long enough for him to notice.  
  
Several lightning flew down from the sky aimed at Akuma. But the woman didn't put up a shield like Yue had. She stood there unprotected and uncaring. However when the lightning struck her, instead of killing her, they were absorbed into her. She stared at the fallen figure with chilling intensity. The way she gazed made her seem so removed from humanity that when Yue opened his eyes once again he couldn't help but shudder feeling the weight of that gaze.  
  
This was the real Akuma. This wasn't the cheery Keori, or the easily amused Akuma, or even the amicable Akuma that he used to know. This was what she was really like underneath all that façade. This was her true face. And it only served to make him very afraid, not only for himself but for his 'family' and for Sakura and her family. There was nothing the sorceress wouldn't do to possess those Cards. And Yue's instincts told him that Akuma was very willing to massacre anyone standing in her way. And apparently he was the first of those people she was willing to murder. A bitter smile forced its way onto his face. This was irony at its best.  
  
Her body all this time had been glowing a heated and perilous red. When the last of the lightning struck her a sudden calm came over the field. It was the sort of calm you felt before the storm. That unnerving silence when nothing moved. No wind, no sound, nothing. Even the lightning had disappeared and the booming thunders had become silent. Yue held his breath tensing for the storm to break. For there was no doubt about it, the storm would break. It was only a matter of how much damage it did. And just as he had predicted, everything suddenly came alive. Red lightning crackled around her body in a serpentine dance that was as mesmerizing as it was dangerous. Lightning flashed across the dark sky followed by a sound so loud Yue wondered if he might become deaf.  
  
Akuma's pliant body became as tense as the string on a bow as she released all that power held in her slender body in one massive surge. The large flow of energy formed itself into a one giant stream of angry red force that was aimed at the prone figure of Yue. And there was absolutely nothing he could do but watch it as rushed towards him with nothing between him and it. Yue closed his eyes in resignation as he offered up a prayer to all the gods that had ever been, and was now in existence.  
  
/Please protect them. Please grant them enough strength to face her and defeat her./  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Soooooo. Cliffhanger anyone? I know it's cruel but I felt that it was time for some sort of cliffhanger anyway. Please don't kill me. *cowers in fear*. I promise to have the next chapter up in a few days.or weeks. Is Yue going to die? Heck if I know. Just keep reading I guess.  
  
As with every other chapter, please review, if only to get the next chapter out faster. I'm working on that even as you are reading this so never fear. Just no flames please. Thanks for all the previous reviews too. I know that my first few chapters were absolutely horrible but I don't really know how to fix it. Other than that there's nothing else to say really.  
  
Ja ne,  
  
Syf. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Recap:**

Akuma's pliant body became as tense as the string on a bow as she released all that power held in her slender body in one massive surge. The large flow of energy formed itself into a one giant stream of angry red force that was aimed at the prone figure of Yue. And there was absolutely nothing he could do but watch it as rushed towards him with nothing between him and it. Yue closed his eyes in resignation as he offered up a prayer to all the gods that had ever been, and was now in existence.

/Please protect them. Please grant them enough strength to face her and defeat her./

Chapter Thirteen 

The storm wasn't natural, Kero and Tsuki knew that. They were creatures made entirely of magic and they were made instantly aware of any changes in the energy pattern around them. And right now their supernatural sense was telling them forcefully that the raging over them was a lot more than unnatural. Tsuki was huddled on Sakura's bed leaning on Kero, who was sitting beside her.

"Kero, what's going on?" Tsuki asked worriedly looking out at the storm via the large window of Sakura's bedroom. 

Kero frowned biting his lips in anxiety. "I don't know, but I know it's got to be bad," he answered bleakly. Both guardians had grim expressions on their faces. They knew something was wrong. What was going on, was the thought running through both their heads. Who was gathering such an amazing amount of energy, and why?

As if in answer to that question a sudden wave of energy swamped their body, flooding them with excess energy that burned their physical body. Their human form couldn't deal with the flood and was telling them in the most obvious way. Their nerves seemed to be on fire as the energy flowed through their weak body. The pain ebbed fading away slowly fooling them into thinking that the worst of the storm was over. But the next second, another wave of energy, stronger than the previous one, washed away their flimsy shields, attacking them directly.

On the bed Tsuki curled into a right ball and squeezed her eyes shut struggling to put up her shield again without little success. Her pearly teeth bit her lips drawing blood that filled her mouth with the coppery tang of blood. Kero, beside her was bent over, clutching his stomach with an expression of pain. The two could barely focus on their surroundings, as preoccupied as they were by the pain.

"Wha – What's going on?"  Tsuki gasped out with difficulty as another wave burned her body. Kero shook his head. It was all he could do in his vulnerable state.

~ * ~ * ~

Kaho looked up from her desk with a small frown marring her face. She had been marking her students' assignments when she had noticed that something wrong. In all her life she had never, ever sensed this much energy gathering in the one place, not even when Sakura had been facing Eriol. And there was something else as well. This kind of energy was wrong. This wasn't pure magical energy. It was a warped and distorted version of magic.

The moon priestess stood up and walked over to an open window. She noted that dark storm clouds were collecting over the town. The brunt of the storm seemed to be concentrated on one particular area. The frown grew deeper. This was wrong. Every nerve in her body was screaming danger. 

A choked gasp escaped her mouth as her head suddenly exploded with pain. Sensitive as she was to power, her mind was being overloaded with energy. She gave a brief thought to how Touya and Eriol were dealing with the pain, before all her attention was focused on conquering the pain.

~ * ~ * ~

A loud boom broke Touya's concentration. The young man looked out the window to see that a storm had broken over the town. Worry entered his eyes. There had been no storm forecast on the news. And even more strangely, all the ghosts had abandoned this area. He could no longer see the children playing in the street, or the young woman sitting on the sakura tree outside the house. His mind made the connections. Ghosts only disappeared when magic is involved. And for all of them to disappear…

This storm was very bad. The magical energy running all over the place was enough to give him a headache. There were few times when he wished to be rid of his powers. Now was one of those times. Touya's eyes grew wide. Sakura was still out there. She was still out there unprotected in the magical storm. But before he could do anything more than worry a sudden rush of energy made him gasp in surprise and in pain. 

Touya dropped to his knees barely able to keep conscious. The energy hummed in his body, making his body ache painfully. He gasped again and tried to force air into his lung. The magical energy had suddenly gone off the scale. And he didn't know why.

~ * ~ * ~

Eriol thanked god that he was sitting down. Around him Spinel Sun and Ruby moon fluttered around wanting to know why their master curled up in pain. Even with all the shields he had up Eriol could feel the magic pouring through his body making it feel as though he had molten lava for blood.

Eriol shook his head and looked up at his guardians with a pained smile. "I'm fine, really," he squeezed out through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong?" Ruby Moon cried anxiously. Even though his master was protecting him from the backlash, he could feel the danger in the air. Spinel, even though he was quieter, was worried as well. Both magical creations knew something was attacking their master.

"Someone in this town is using a tremendous amount of energy," Spinel Sun answered for Eriol. As learned as he was, he recognized the signs of a magical backlash. Ruby Moon's eyes widened with horror. 

Everything had a balance. When you used magic, there was always a backlash of some sort. The greater the power, the greater the backlash. For the backlash to affect Eriol this much, the energy being used must have been high. Higher than most magicians could handle. The only two people capable of such things were Sakura and Eriol. Sakura had no reason to call up this much power, and Eriol was writhing in pain.

"So who is it?" Ruby Moon voiced the thought running through everyone's head. 

~ * ~ * ~

Yue closed his eyes in resignation. He consoled himself with the fact that he had tried his best. He had failed, but at least he hadn't just rolled over, he had gone down with a fight. And that was enough for him. It had to be.

He felt the energy gathering and braced himself for the impact. It was going to hurt. He could barely put up a shield but he gathered what little energy his weakened body could handle, and even that was enough to burn him, and put up a basic shield. The shield would do nothing, but it made Yue feel marginally better. Yue winced as the energy was released. However, instead of feeling the burst of energy ripping his body apart, he heard the energy exploding several feet away from him. Heat washed over him, almost blistering his already sensitive skin but he wasn't dead. Surprised, shocked, and alarmed, Yue opened his eyes…only to be greeted with an amazing sight. 

Standing in front of him, shining brightly, was a winged figure. The feathered wings gave off a pale pink glow, as did the gauzy dress fluttering about the person's ankles. Surrounding both Yue and the person was a shield of shimmering pink. The star guardian quickly saw that the lightning had crashed against the shield and had been deflected away to a safe area. Around them the storm raged and lighting flashed in the sky. Yue shivered as he saw the angry sneer on Akuma's lips. The sorceress didn't look pleased by this new development. Her eyes flashed bright red and in accordance with her sharp hand gestures several lightning flew down and struck the shield but it held strong. Each strike was deflected away without a flicker of weakness. The figure stood strong through the assault until Akuma saw the pointlessness of attacking. The wind died down, allowing Yue to more closely observe the figure.

Even from the back Yue recognized his saviour. "Tenshi," the Japanese word slipped out from between Yue's lips in an awed sigh. In direct contrast to his normally icy exterior the star guardian's eyes were wide open and his mouth was slightly gaping. The figure did not turn around at the voice. Yue struggled to stand up unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Leave him alone Akuma, it isn't time yet," the young woman demanded firmly not letting the shield down. Yue didn't blame her. _He_ wouldn't put the shield down if he were her. Akuma glared at her anti-thesis with unconcealed hatred. The Angel didn't look fazed by the anger directed at her.

An unpleasant smile appeared on Akuma's lips. "I will not harm the girl but it is within my rights to kill him," Akuma proclaimed possessively. Yue bit back a retort at the arrogance in her voice. It was not wise to draw attention to himself at this precise moment.

Yue heard a smile in the Angel's voice. "He is under my protection, unless you wish the battle to occur here and now, I would suggest that you leave." Yue had never heard the Angel sound so angry, so cold. Every other time he and the Angel had met, she had been so gentle, and kind. But now her wrath had been stirred, and Yue didn't mind admitting that she scared him. 

Akuma snarled wordlessly. She was reluctant to admit defeat but she eventually stepped down. There was no use in wiping each other out. "When the day comes sister, you will regret ever opposing me," she warned fading away. The storm, along with its maker, faded away as well, until the sky was once again clear and blue. The Angel waited for all traces of Akuma to disappear before taking down the shield slowly. 

Yue leaned on his uninjured leg the other had been sprained during the fight. "W – what…" Yue stammered. The girl turned around with a welcoming smile. In contrast to her words to Akuma, she had a gentle smile on her face. Yue was frozen at the sight of her face. It had been so long since he had seen her. She still looked beautiful, blindingly so. She radiated a calm aura that soothed his soul and mind. Yue had missed that aura of serenity. 

"Hello Yue," she greeted walking over to the star guardian with slow measured steps. She seemed to float as she headed for him. Yue, frozen in his place, could do little more than stare as his first love approached him. The Angel stopped a respectable distance away from Yue. The two stared at each other, the Angel fondly, and Yue with wonder.

"You seem so surprised to see me," she said with a gentle smile, prompting Yue into speech.

Yue found his voice again, "Why are you – "

"Why am I here?" the Angel interrupted. Yue nodded silently. The Angel's smile grew wider. "Do you think I would really let my sister kill you?" she asked. Yue smiled slightly and shook his head in answer to her question. Then his eyes shadowed as the past rushed to catch up with him.

"Where have you been?" Yue blurted out, a note of anger and hurt in his voice.

The Angel scowled playfully at Yue, not seeming to take him seriously. "Where I've always been, right beside you."

"Since when?" Yue demanded, having gotten over his shock, enough to hold an actual conversation with the Angel. The Angel stepped closer and put her hand on his cheek. Her pale pink eyes looked up at him with sorrow.

"Since the day I left Clow Reed," she whispered softly. Yue's confused and angry eyes softened. He leaned into the Angel and let his lips close over hers. The girl kissed back gently. The kiss seemed to last an eternity, soothing both their souls, and awakening latent desire. Yue grasped her waist holding onto her tightly. But she broke free of his hold and stepped back reluctantly. Yue grabbed her wrist.

"Where are you going?" he asked anxiously. The Angel smiled wanly.

"I have to go, my host can't support me forever. She is growing weak." Yue nodded to show that he understood and let go of her wrist. His hands clenched in an effort to resist the temptation to grab her. He knew how it worked. Cards could not stay in their physical forms for long, not if they had no master to depend on. The Angel was such a card. He knew she had to either go back to her card form or to the form of her host. And if her host grew too weak, the Angel would fade away, simply becoming shapeless, mindless, soulless energy. And Yue could not allow that to happen.

"Please be careful," the Angel warned gently, a pale pink glow coming over her body. 

Yue dredged up a smile. He couldn't allow the Angel to worry about him. Letting out the breath he had been holding Yue watched as the glow grew brighter, and brighter, almost making him blind with the intensity. He turned away instinctively as the glow grew too bright for him. As the bright glow faded away he slowly turned around. As his eyes landed on the Angel's human host they widened in shocked surprise. 

Standing before him was a confused and shocked Kinomoto Sakura. The teenager looked at the guardian in bewilderment. She was wearing the school clothes that Yue had last seen her in, but they were rumpled and wrinkled. Her brown hair was in disarray and her emerald eyes reflected the confusion that Yue was also feeling. "Yue?" she whispered huskily before her eyes closed and she fell to the ground, exhausted by the task of holding enormous amount of power in her frail body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heheh, the latest chappie is up. No I wouldn't have killed Yue, I love him too much for that. And beside, if he died who on earth am I supposed to pair Sakura up with? This was supposed to be a ten chapters story but somehow it evolved into a long multi-chapter story. I still don't know when I'll end it.

I didn't realise where the Angel was hiding until I wrote this chapter. I had a faint idea that the Angel was watching over Yue, I just wasn't sure how. Turns out she was with Sakura after all. When I wrote chapter twelve, I was wondering who on earth was going to rescue Yue. I wanted to make is Sakura but somehow it seemed so predictable, so I settled for the Angel. As for why Akuma called the Angel 'sister', you'll find out later. And there is a reason why Akuma's been attacking everyone around Sakura. Let me work out the glitches in my plot first. I should really plot first before writing, otherwise it's a pain having to go back to make the past chapters fit with the story. 

My latest obsession is a site called go-gaia (www.go-gaia.com). It's a great site, and I have such a cute character. My name's Morier, and my guy has long silver hair and blue eyes. He's so cute!!! I've also decided to participate in my school volleyball team and the debating team as well. What can I say, I love arguing. That's what's happening in my life if anyone wants to know.

Enough of my chatting. Go and review people, go and review. 

Ja


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen 

Kinomoto Touya was a very adaptable person. When he saw his first ghost he didn't scream in fright, he just backed away slowly. When he found out his sister was a sorceress of enormous power he didn't suddenly start to treat her as a goddess. And when his fiancée turned out to be a moon priestess with an unsettling ability to see the future he just shrugged and went on with his life with no perceptible change in attitude. It was very hard to make Touya unravel. But everyone has their limits and Touya's limit was reached when he opened the front door of his house in answer to repeated knocking and saw a wet and battered looking Yue standing outside carrying an unconscious Sakura in his arms. The young man's mouth dropped open. "Wha – " he began but was forced to stop when Yue rudely brushed past him without a word. "Hey!" he called out irritably. Yue didn't turn around.

"I would like to make sure your sister is fine before having to answer your questions if that's all right with you?" Yue's brittle voice broke through Touya's shock. The brother to the Cardmistress snapped to attention. Direction Yue to the large sofa in the living room Touya watched as Yue placed Sakura carefully on the sofa. Unconscious and pale Sakura didn't look like the card mistress, one of the most powerful magic users in the world. She looked like a young girl who was far too innocent to bear the burden of Clow Reed's legacy.

"Now that she's fine and dandy," the sarcasm in Touya's voice could cut glass, "What the hell happened?"

Yue spent a moment gazing at the brother of the Cardmistress. He knew very well that this young man would have some sort of power. One did not get to be a child of the reincarnated form of Clow Reed and the brother of the Cardmistress without having some tricks of his own. So perhaps he had felt something. "Did you feel something a little…strange today? A change in energy pattern or something similar." Judging by the shocked feeling on Touya's face, Yue had hit the nail on the head.

The dark haired young man glared. "I knew you had something to do with it," Touya accused, "And it wasn't just 'a little', it was the biggest migraine I've ever experienced in my entire life. It was twice the one I got when that freak decided to attack my sister for some test. What is going on?"

Yue closed his mouth. Well, at least he had been right. "It seems that Akuma is far stronger than I had approximated. That pain you experienced is proof of it."

"And I suppose the pain the others experienced is also proof of it," Touya muttered, running a hand through his hair.

"The others?" Yue repeated.

"Aa, I got a call from the freak, the gaki, and Kaho asking whether I had felt what they had. Apparently the experience was painful enough for them to be feeling echoes of it minutes afterwards. And when I went upstairs the stuffed toy and Tsuki were feeling less than healthy. Actually, they looked like hell." Yue paled. If this had affected all of them so strongly how much power had Akuma pulled from the environment? This was looking worse and worse as he heard each word.

"K'so," he hissed in frustration.

Touya arched an eyebrow. "Something tells me that is not good news."

Yue shook his head, occupied with wondering how the hell he was going to get out of this mess. And whether he should even try. It all seemed so hopeless, no matter what he did, he failed. Life was looking less and less predictable.

"Of course it's not good news, especially when someone like Akuma is involved," a familiar voice spoke up. Yue looked up and saw Eriol standing in the doorway. Not just Eriol, it was also Kaho, Suppi, Nakuru, Syaoron, Tomoyo, and Meiling. In other words, every single one of Sakura's magical friends were there, making Yue feel very outnumbered. "Should we have a group meeting?" Eriol suggested with a bright smile.

Yue took a deep breath and reminded himself that Sakura would not appreciate it if he killed her guardians, neither would the Angel come to think about it. Stuck between Tsuki and Keroberus, Yue was feeling more than a bit anxious. The two had glared at him when he had asked if they were feeling better. Kero had almost attacked him screaming something similar to 'you traitorous psychotic moron'. Luckily Touya grabbed Kero mid-flight, telling him that they could kill Yue _after_ they extracted the necessary information from him. Needless to say Yue was hoping that Sakura would wake up and soon. If the girl did not wake up Yue would not be held responsible for his actions. Or for his dead body, which was the far more likely option.

"As I was saying before to Touya, we seem to have a bit of a problem on our hands. Namely Akuma," Eriol said, calmly pouring tea into a cup. The others watched with total amazement as Eriol added milk and sugar calmly. Eriol continued to talk, "Obviously she bears us no good will. However, apart from the single attack at the party she has done nothing to Sakura. She has taunted, hurt us, riddled, but nothing else. Would anyone like to put forth a theory to explain that?"

"She seems to be waiting for something." Kaho smiled when everyone turned to her. "That's my guess." Guesses were as good as done when a moon priestess bothered to put them forward. The moon saw everything, and if she did not, the sun told her.

Meiling nodded slowly. "That seems to be the case but what's she waiting for? A blue moon?"

Yue coughed, trying not to squirm when he gained everyone's attention. "I might have an answer to that."

Even Eriol's smile turned razor sharp when they heard that. "Ah yes, my Hoshi no Tenshi, I do believe you are one of our main players in this little play. Do tell us what is going on so we can be prepared."

Yue sighed. "It was something that Clow Reed told me when I was younger. 'The powers of Heaven and Hell are not meant to co-exist. When they do, it is inevitable that they will fight for dominance. They will cancel each other out and life will be as it was meant to be, a montage of grey.' I asked him what he meant by that but he only told me to wait for the light of the purple moon."

Rubbing his temple with a tired sigh, Touya spoke up, "Let me take a wild stab in the dark. The Angel would be the power of Heaven and Akuma the power of Hell. And they're going to fight. So the only question left is, what the hell is the light of the purple moon?"

Tsuki, who had been staring quizzically at her older brother ever since he had started to speak, bit her lips. "The star can become the moon…" she said in a quiet voice that had her brothers and creator looking shrewdly at her. Her face was slack and her eyes glowed with magic. "A purple star can become a purple moon when the time is right…" There was a tense silence where she smiled serenely, before her eyes focused in the present again. She blinked in confusion when she noticed the stares coming her way. "Eto, doushite?"

Smiling comfortingly, Eriol shook his head, reaching across to pat her hand. "Betsuni, Tsu-chan, betsuni." The others who knew something had happened, even if they didn't know what, realised that Eriol wanted them to keep their mouths shut. That was fine with them. When the true reincarnation of Clow did something, you followed because it was a bad idea not to. A lot of pain and death involved if you didn't listen.

Suddenly taking control of the situation Yue spoke up, "Has anyone been feeling slightly abnormal lately?" The strangeness of the question prompted everyone to look quizzically at the Star Guardian.

"Abnormal how?" Touya's voice had a hint of 'what else haven't you told us'.

Yue shrugged. "Just wondering whether those little red balls that Akuma attacked you with had any affects."

The sudden smile on Eriol's face told Yue that he had just done something his ex-master would hope he would do. Yue hated being predictable. "Thank you Yue-kun." The guardian winced at the affectionate name. "You've just reminded me of something. I wanted to scan all of you in case those red balls did something."

"Scan?" Syaoron's voice held quite a lot of suspicion. Yue couldn't blame him. Clow was…eccentric and it was likely that his reincarnation had inherited the same trait.

"Just a little spell that'll make sure you're all in your peak condition."

"Promise?" Meiling asked, apprehensive of the smile on Eriol's face.

The magician held up his hand, palm outward. "Cross my heart and hope to die," he swore with a straight face. His friends just gave him a 'look'.

Kero sighed and rolled onto his feet. "Hurry up then Reed-sama."

Standing patiently before Eriol, Tomoyo tried not to flinch when a pale gold light came out from his staff to surround her. She had always been a little wary of magic. She was around it enough not to let it worry her but being able to ignore it and accepting it wholeheartedly were two different things. "So," she began nervously, "How am I?"

Eriol retracted the light and smiled at Tomoyo. "Absolutely fine my dear. Nothing wrong at all." The girl sighed in relief and moved out of the way for Meiling, who stepped forward confidently.

When at last, everyone, including Yue had gone through the test Eriol put away his staff. "It seems nothing is wrong, which makes me worried."

Nakuru looked up. "Worried?"

Eriol nodded. "Yes. What was the purpose of that red light if not to hurt us physically or magically? I'm sure everyone agrees that Akuma is unlikely to do something unless it is in her favour. So therefore there must be a reason behind this. But I can't figure out why."

Yue could have told the magician to sit back, relax, and wait for the future but he didn't. For one thing they were upset with him already, and for another, he too was worried. The Akuma he knew had a reason for everything. She did not waste her energy for nothing. And knowing Akuma, the spell was aimed at making things difficult for Sakura. What he wouldn't give to get drunk right now. Of course, there was the problem of Guardians not being able to get drunk. Being a magical construct had its disadvantages.

"So what do we do then?" The question, not surprisingly, came from Syaoron. The boy was well known for his…forthright manners.

In Yue's opinion, Eriol's answering smile was not comforting in the least. "What we do best. Wait for the worst to happen."

A pin dropping on carpet could be heard in the silence that followed. It was Touya who finally found his voice.

"You're telling me to just sit back and watch my sister get hurt?" A pause, then, "Are you insane!!!" Well, if that wasn't loud enough to wake Sakura Yue didn't know what was.

" 'Niisan, what's going on?"

…And indeed that would be Sakura, who had walked down the stairs just in time to see her brother lose it. Touya seemed to lose all of that anger when he saw Sakura. Yue was somewhat amazed by the phenomenon. He was under the impression that it would take more than innocent eyes to make Kinomoto Touya back down. Sister complex. Yue smirked. He'd heard Yukito tease Touya about that once.

Sakura glanced around, trying to find something or someone that would signal to her what was going on. Tomoyo, her best friend, was at her side immediately. "Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?"

The blank look Sakura gave her was indicative of the honey-haired girl's state of mind. "I'm not hurt at all. Why would I be?" Nearly everyone froze. Eriol just studied Sakura as if she were an experiment. At the response her words inspired, Sakura shrank back. "What's going on?"

Seeing as how so many people seemed shocked into speechlessness, Yue took it upon himself to explain. "You are possessed by the spirit of the Angel, much as Keori is by Akuma I suspect. The Angel took over for a while and your body couldn't handle the stress of it. You fainted, I carried you home, and here you are." He did not see the need to hide behind a lie. Sakura, from what he had witnessed, was a strong girl who thrived in the truth. It was about time people stopped treating her as a child. Not, Yue thought to himself with a small grimace, that Kero or Touya would agree with him.

Yue was amused to note that as soon as the words left his mouth Kero rounded on him with a snarl. His next words however made the smile on Yue's face fade away. "Shut up Yue! This is as much your fault as it is Akuma's. You and the Angel. If you hadn't – "

That was, as they say, the last straw. "If I hadn't what? Fallen for a Card? Chased after the only one who saw past the Judge? Found a mind of my own, away from our Creator? Become independent? What exactly are you blaming me for Kero? You were the one who played lapdog to a man who only acknowledged us when he wanted to test out one of his theories. And beside, my absence hardly disturbed his plans. He created a new pet didn't he? How easily I am replaced. None of you bothered to help me, perhaps if you had, if we had found the Angel quicker, then this might not have happened. Have you thought of that, brother dearest?" Eventually Yue ran out of steam and he was left breathing harshly, barely able to contain his bitter anger.

"Yue?"

The timid voice startled the pale guardian out of his reverie. Oh hell, Yue swore silently. He had forgotten about Sakura. The girl, if Yue was correct, would probably be wondering if this was her fault. Not that it was. Not that Yue could convince her of it. Yue sometimes wished that the girl would be selfish, just once.

Keeping Sakura's giving personality in mind Yue summoned a small smile. "Forgive me Kero, I was just…feeling a little out of sorts. Please ignore everything I just said." Kero gave him a strange look but Yue kept that smile on for everyone's sake.

Not surprisingly Eriol stepped up to take control of the situation. "We understand Yue. Perhaps you should go home and have a rest. Don't worry about Sakura, we'll take care of her." Even though Eriol sounded calm, there was no denying that the tension between he and his creation existed. Whether the tension was there before Yue's word was another matter completely.

Taking the chance that he had been given, Yue graciously backed out of the situation that he had created. "Certainly. I'll talk to you later Sakura." Not even waiting for the girl to respond he nearly ran out of the house.

"Hmph," Kero mumbled, "Good riddance." Unwittingly he had voiced the feeling of nearly everyone in the room.

I hated this chapter. This stupid, short, pointless chapter. I'm also feeling sick (bloody stuffed nose) due to staying up till one and waking up at six for practically a whole week. I wasn't made for such things. I don't know whether it's me feeling sick or whatever, but I couldn't stand to look at this chapter. I don't care whether there's a mistake in it, I don't care whether I've contradicted myself. I don't plan to re-read this chapter until…I don't know when.

Frickin' headache. Feel free to R&R, even if its unlikely I'll be up to writing another chapter till later. Sorry it's so short and I'm being so whiney.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Keori_

I'm not exactly the most normal of people, y'know? I mean, other people have a family, parents, a home. I'm not saying that I'm alone in being alone but I'll bet no one has a supernatural bitch living in their skin, trying her damn best to kill you. Akuma, that's what she calls herself, is the reason I don't have a family or a home anymore.

See, my dad was a medium sorcerer with dreams of something bigger. Problem? He's got the skills but nowhere near the power needed to reach the level of someone like Li Kuan, the strongest eastern magician at the time. But he didn't let that stop him. My dad was a collector of tomes that even the darkest sorcerers feared to touch. Looking through them one day he found this nifty little dark magic that would let him achieve his dream. Yeah, my dad was an idiot. He didn't believe in 'what goes around comes around'. He was never much for the theory side of magic; always about the power was my dad. The thing is that saying was the most basic principle of magic. Heck, my mother, who had no magic, could've told him that this was a big mistake. And she did. Not that my dad listened.

Ironically enough it was a moonless night when he performed the spell. Even now I still don't know what the spell was supposed to do. But I know it involved a lot of blood and a heck of a lot of dark elementals. The result of the spell was Akuma. Her name should've given him a clue, but no, my dad just had to order around someone whose name means 'devil'. First thing she did? She sucked out his soul, then my elder brother's, and finally my mother's. Luckily - or not, depending on your view - my mother was pregnant with me at the time. That was how I survived. Sure, Akuma killed mother but she couldn't touch me since I was an entirely separate being with her own soul. Unluckily, Akuma remembered she needed a host. Guess who got chosen.

I didn't put up much of a fight. Hey, I was still a baby at that point. So I got possessed by the wicked witch of the west. Then she used some of the power she gained from my family to accelerate the growth of my body till I looked like a seven-year-old. On the upside, I had the mental ability of a seven-year-old too.

It was a bit of a shock I can tell you. Going from a baby who can barely see beyond a foot to a child who can see everything clearly can be very unsettling. Especially if the first things you see are the dead bodies of people who resemble you.

I survived though. Akuma wouldn't let me do anything else. We burned the house down and left town that same night. No one ever knew that one person had survived the fire. The next few years are kinda boring. Akuma kept whining about some Angel chick when she wasn't pissed off about a guy named Yue. We just kept looking for those two the whole time. I got by because of my innocent look. People felt sorry for us, fed us, clothed us, and sheltered us. Some tried to fuck us but Akuma killed them. I suppose I should be grateful to her for that.

The entire time I've been living with her has been a battle. Even though she wanted me alive, Akuma constantly fought me for my body. Every day was a fight to remember that I was Keori, not Akuma; that I'm something beside the host of a bloody thirsty demon. She overwhelms me sometimes, particularly when my emotions are out of control. It's becoming a lot harder now, now that we've located the Angel. She wants out; she wants to kill her counterpart. I think by the end of this I'll either be dead, or lost. I suspect I should be a lot more worried about those two prospects but all I can think of is...

...Will anyone mourn my passing?

* * *

_Touya_

"Hey, bakamono." That's my usual greeting for Sakura. And like usual, she goes red and stomps on my feet.

Since she turned five we've had this routine everyday of our lives. Nothing's changed in nine years and I doubt it'll change in the next nine years. Yuki might be right, I might have a sister complex for all I know. I don't call it that though. I'm just protective. I have a reason to be. Sakura is a klutz, naive, and too adventurous for my liking. She just can't seem to get it through to her skull that not everyone is as nice as her. She takes it so personally when someone rejects her. She's always been like this so I can't blame anything or anyone for it...as much as I'd like to.

She'd go greet a new neighbour and they'd tease her because she seems so simple-minded. I always ended up defending her when that happened. She just couldn't understand that people will hurt you simply because they can. Even after numerous incidents like that rejection just seems to wash over her and disappear into thin air. Then mother died. Things got worse. Dad was never around long enough to see how it was affecting Sakura and me. I dealt well with it, but only because I could see mother. Sakura didn't deal so well. She just got quieter and quieter. I suppose she always wondered if it was her fault.

But she got better after a while. So did dad. Sakura met Tomoyo, I met Kaho and Yukito, and dad had us. Things got a lot better. When Sakura started becoming secretive in fifth grade I started getting worried all over again. Sakura wasn't the most stable of people; she's too emotional. At night I'd hear her speak to someone in her room, or I'd see her take a huge piece of cake into her room at midnight. I would've interfered right away but mother assured me it was all right. So I did nothing.

Finding out that Sakura was a 'Cardmistress', whatever that was, was a big shock. I suspected something was up though, especially when I saw that girl that looked like Sakura but didn't _feel_ like her. That stuffed toy of hers was also suspicious. Still, it was a surprise. Even more shocking was finding out that Kaho was a moon priestess who was there to guard my sister. Yukito adjusted far quicker than me. He just smiled and went on as if nothing was wrong. For all I know he might not have noticed that anything really _was_ wrong. Yukito can be pretty oblivious that way. It sounds pretty mean to talk that way about my best friend but I don't pretend that Yukito has no faults. He has plenty; one was that he had a soft spot for Sakura. That's probably why he ended up nearly getting hurt in that last 'test' of Sakura's. I don't blame him for that; I would've done the same if I had been in the same situation.

I think it was only because of her connections of people that she didn't retreat when dad died. Oh, she cried and cried but at least she wasn't keeping it inside. I always suspected that Yukito asked her out because he felt sorry for her, or at least it started out that way. Sakura really depended on him and Tomoyo during the funeral week. Maybe that's when Yukito started falling for her, the heck do I know? I just know that was when Sakura decided that she needed to be stronger on her own. She wanted to stand on her own two feet. Tomoyo understood and stepped back but poor Yukito didn't. I don't pretend to know the entire story but I don't blame Sakura for dumping Yukito, just as I don't blame Yukito for leaving Japan. I'm just the older brother, right? Just the older brother who watches out for his sister and stays out of the way.

Lately though things have been strange, strange enough that no matter what Sakura may want, I'm going to get involved. How involved? Well, involved enough that I'm going to kick that Yue guy's arse if he doesn't get his act together. The stuffed toy's worried about him too and that really says something. Keroberus might not be my best friend but I know he's looking out for Sakura too and any enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Unfortunately, right now I can't do anything. I'm still the watchful elder brother. If Yue screws up again though...

* * *

_Eriol_

This is definitely a dream and a fascinating dream at that. After all, one doesn't get to talk to one's previous incarnation everyday.

I smile at him, not at all surprised to see the same smile reflected back at me. Clow Reed and I look far too alike in my opinion. "Hello Clow."

"Hello Eriol. How are you?" We are seated in a garden beside a small lake. Behind me, I know, is the house that Clow lived in while creating the cards. It was a beautiful Tudor house with bright colours and ivy tailing down the walls. A pity that it didn't last through the world wars. For some reason whenever Clow wants to talk to me, he always brings me here. I suspect that this place holds sentimental memories for him.

I shrug, choosing to give a non-committal answer. "As per usual. And you?"

He laughs. It's eerie how much he sounds like Fujitaka when he chuckles. "I'm merely the memory of a dead man, Eriol."

"Indeed," I agree, "However memories are as full of feelings as any other living being." It could not be helped. I always manage to get into small debates with the man about everything. If Meiling could hear me now she'd turn up her nose and accuse me of being too stubborn for my own good. I must say, I agree with her on that one.

A small amused smile graces his face at my words. He nodded to concede the point to me before moving onto other things. "Speaking of living beings, how are my creations?"

This was a routine almost. Every time we talk Clow manages to circle around to his creations. He worries for them, hence why a part of him still hasn't moved on. I can understand his feelings; I too worry about Nataku and Spinel Sun. But Clow shouldn't worry. Sakura is a wonderful mistress who truly cares for Tsuki and Kero. However, that isn't what Clow wants to know. He is as aware of the physical realm as I am; he knows very well what is going on. "Tsuki and Kero are fine. However, both are more than a little worried about the appearance of Akuma and Yue..." I trail off, watching him for his next move.

"Ahhh, Yue, the Purple Moon. I suppose he's very upset with me?" He cringes as he says this confirming my belief that he was well aware of how his actions had contributed to the situation.

I keep smiling. "Oh, yes. In fact he seems to be at odds with nearly everybody bar Sakura. Did you plan it this way?"

He sends me a startled look. "Gods above, no! I planned to eventually get rid of Akuma and, with any luck, keep Tenshi in this realm. The escape of Akuma then Tenshi was not part of my master plan I assure you. Of course, Yue getting involved with Tenshi was also not part of that. I rather wish I could have told him why it was such a bad idea to get too attached to her, but he always was the more rebellious one."

"Rebellious?" I repeat. Admittedly Yue was not the most friendly of beings but he didn't seem so much rebellious as lost.

Clow nods in answer. "He might seem like a meek little puppy all alone and lost, but underneath all that mildness is an absolute brat!" The last is said with vehemence but I know him too well.

"And yet, you did everything in your power to ensure that he could continue to look for the Angel unheeded."

A wince. "Hmm, yes...well...it seems that you've found me out," he says with a wry smile, "Does he know?"

I shake my head. "No. I don't plan on telling him either. I don't think it would change much of anything if he did. It's best really that he continues to believe what he does."

There is a sad sigh that escapes him when I finished. "True. Things will unfold as they will regardless of our intervention. We are the most powerful magicians in the world and yet...we are forced to do nothing while people suffer because of fate."

"Everything is a test of fire, so to speak," I reply, "They will be stronger when this is over, you can be sure of that at least. They will be hurt, that is inevitable, but when the flames die down they will still be here. They will still be alive and sane."

"How I wish I could believe that, but I fear Yue might be consumed. He is not the most rational being at the best of times. Neither is Kero when it comes to Yue. Tsuki will be dragged into the flame by virtue of her connections to them. For all I know, they might be far too hurt to even contemplate the thought of repairing what little they had."

I stifle the sudden urge to laugh. How true. Yue and Kero are certainly not rational, not even on their best days. "Don't worry Clow, Sakura will heal them."

My laughter fades at the knowing look tempered with sorrow that he sends me. "Ahh...But who will heal _her_?"

* * *

_Akuma_

Who decided that I was unnecessary?

Who decided that I had to be destroyed?

Who in the world woke up one day and said 'all evil has to be destroyed'?

I have as much right to be here as much as the Angel does. I am a part of the human psyche too. I am part of life itself but those naive fools that call themselves 'wise magicians' tried to destroy me. Especially that Clow Reed. That man irritated me to no ends. I knew that he was planning on destroying me. I knew that he was trying to find a way to keep the Angel in this realm. I also knew about Yue's little obsession with the Angel. The moon is always attractive to anyone with magical inclinations, and the cards are no different.

I don't suppose they ever found out that I was the one who freed the Angel. Yue had a very important part to play and I couldn't have him hovering around Clow Reed, especially if that resulted in him becoming the Judge. I needed him far away from Clow, enough that he would no longer be the judge. The future is an open book to me and I know that if Yue remains as the Judge, things will go very badly.

I don't hate Yue. It's impossible to hate him. He aggravates, irritates, and angers but he has never inspired hatred. The Moon soothes everybody and even though Yue is now of the Star sign, he was and always will be, of the Moon first. He retains everything that constitutes a Moon guardian but has the added powers of a Star guardian. Lucky boy, the best of both worlds in his hands. With all the charm of the Moon at his beck and call, how could I possibly hate Yue? It's true I _need_ to kill him because if I don't, the Angel will win but I don't particularly _want_ to hurt him.

Pity that he and I are on different sides.

Even more of a pity that he's so obsessed with the Angel and that girl. Neither the Angel nor I can exist in this world as corporeal beings. We are pure energy and we will only burn out our hosts. The girl that I occupy is close to disappearing, her body worn out by housing me. Is the same happening to that Sakura girl? Probably so. What will Yue do when he discovers this? He should have known from the beginning that he can never have the Angel. Any relationship between a Card and a Guardian, or a mortal for that matter, can only end in tears. I could almost pity him. _Almost._

Things are coming to a head and not even I know how it will end. I have played my cards and so has the Angel, now only Destiny is left to show her hands. Will that hand favour the Angel or me? No one knows, we can only wait for Destiny to catch up with us.

* * *

A/N

1. Does anyone actually remember who I am, considering that I disappeared for close to a year?

2. Does anyone else feel like nothing's making any sense? 'Cause _I'm_ confused.

3. No frickin' idea where I'm going with this so yeah...


End file.
